Children of the Elements
by sprx777
Summary: Ruin. Pain. Torn lives. What befell this once green world? How will it be fixed? Seven Elements. Seven Children. Will the darkness be conqured? Will these ruined lives be fixed?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Service**

What a strange place to wake up to. All gray with out a single ounce of other color to be seen. Then again, that tend to happen when you wake up in front of a wall. A small purple hedgehog groaned as he rose and turned away from the wall to find that he was surrounded by these monotonous colors and strange machinery on the walls. His golden eyes were moving all over the place, trying to find someone important. When ever he moved his head, the five quills on his head swayed slightly, and so did the two long ones that were on the back of his head. Seeing that who he was looking for was not in this area, he began to move through the ruins of his place of awakening.

"Shine? Are you here?", the hedgehog whispered, getting a feeling of danger with every step he took.

A small groan was heard to his right, making his ear twitch in curiosity. He followed and broke into a quick sprint, coming to a faint glow in the corner. Before his eyes was a white furred cat in a blue dress that went down to her knees, and similar golden eyes. In her hands was a little jewel that she didn't seem to dare to let go of.

"Fuego? That you?", The cat asked to the hedgehog.

The hedgehog named Fuego nodded and extended his hand to the feline who's glow was brightening a little more, meaning she was alright and happy to see him, "Yeah. You alright, Shine?"

"I think so. That was some fall though.", Shine said, as she got up with the hedgehog's help.

Fuego nodded and looked around, "Any idea as to where we are? Cuz this place is kind of... dull..."

Shine took a moment to analyze where they were and saw only the same thing that Fuego did. Gray walls everywhere that lead into hall ways, sparking wires here and there, and dusty old machinery. She would be surprised if anything here still worked, "I see what you mean, brother... let's see if we can find a way out of here..."

"Shine...", Fuego said, looking down. If anyone could see it, Fuego was the shorter of the two and clearly the youngest, despite his cool manner.

Shine looked down at her little brother and asked, "What is it, Fuego?"

"Do you remember how we got here?", Fuego asked, looking slightly confused.

Shine blinked and was ready to say something until she realized that she wasn't quite so sure herself. In fact, she didn't remember much of anything. She remembered being in her home with a hedgehog that looked a lot like Fuego but had silver fur like herself and a cat with purple fur. She also remembered a party and a golden furred echidna. Passed that, nothing came to mind.

"Honestly, I really don't know. Maybe it will come to us?", Shine said.

Fuego nodded, but seemed to still be thinking about how they ended up in such a strange environment and so alone as well. He was curious of where their parents were. Soon, the two of them began walking through the hall ways of the strange ruins, hoping to find some way out and into some light. The only reason they could see was because of the light that was coming from Shine's body and the sparks that came from the wires on the ceiling. Once in a while, they would pass a symbol that looked rather noble. It was of an eagle and a shield on the body. The letters G U N were on it as well. This caught their attention and the feline and hedgehog both began to get curious. After hanging a left, they came to a dead end. Fuego began to feel a little nervous. Not because of the dead silence, but because of the creaking that their foot steps made when they took a step.

"Shine, maybe we should go another way.", Fuego said, looking at the ground a little curiously.

Shine rolled her eyes, but then felt the ground beneath her feet give way, and a literal sinking feeling took her. Fuego saw her go down and with in seconds, he enveloped Shine in a red aura that was coming from his body, "You alright, Shine?"

Though she was caught, she sank enough to see another room beneath her, "I'm fine... um... you may want to have a look at this."

Fuego tilted his head before moving forward and slowly levitating down, moving Shine down with him. Inside was a strange looking wall filled with blinking lights and buttons. Red, green, and blue just flashing every which way and that. This was peculiar, but not as peculiar as the pod that was sitting just on the other side of the room. It was almost shaped like an egg and emitting an ominous green glow. Fuego was the one to investigate the pod first, curious as to what was causing the glow in the first place. Shine decided that she would look at the computer. There was a dusty screen that she had to clean up before looking at what was on it. All that there was were just lines that were moving in zig zag patterns. Another showed numbers for a battery of sort which read half charged.

Another button caught her eye that read "Release" and she was tempted to look away from it for a while, but then she found herself hearing something.

_You will need help if you are to save this world..._

Shine blinked and looked to Fuego, "Did you say something?"

"No. Why?", Fuego asked, pressing his face against a glass viewing window that allowed him to see inside the glowing green egg. He could see an outline of someone, but who it reminded him of was hard to say.

Shine gulped and looked around, hoping that it was just her tired mind playing tricks on her. Unfortunately, the voice came back. It seemed gentle though, soothing, and very familiar.

_Release the being that will assist you... change the fate of this world..._

Shine looked at the button that said 'release' and sighed to herself before putting her finger to the button and began to debate on whether it was a good idea to push it or not. She was ready to pull her finger away when Fuego came behind her and said, "What are you doing?"

Shine was surprised, and accidentally pushed the button. What happened next shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone who is reading this. The egg shaped pod started hissing as steam was being released, and the screen on the machine began to change and show a flashing red light. If the speakers could work, a siren would have been heard as well. The pod opened and the steam started to slowly disappear. Inside was a strange figure that took a few staggering steps forward to reveal an ivory hedgehog with sky blue highlights. He had six quills on the back of his head that had the highlights. Two on each side of his head pointed up while remaining two that were in the center back of his head pointed down. He had shoes that appeared to have rockets under them. A pair of gloves, and black rings that were around his wrists and ankles. The eyes were what really caught Shine and Fuego's attention. They were a gentler shade of blue than what was on his body. Probably gentle from a groggy awakening, but still gentle none the less. The hedgehog looked at the two of them in curiosity before straightening himself up.

Shine couldn't help but feel that the hedgehog looked eerily familiar to her. The body shape looks similar to someone she knew, but the color was off. She gulped before asking, "Shadow?"

The hedgehog looked to Shine with a quick jerk of his head and appeared to glare at her. A fierceness replaced the gentle look in the eyes and he took a few steps forward towards the duo. Fuego quickly got in front of his sister and raised his hands in front of him, ready to fend off the new hedgehog if things got hostile, "Hey, we let you out. No need to get all cranky!", Fuego said.

The hedgehog stopped his advance as he was but a couple of feet away from Fuego. Then, he went on to one knee and said, "I am grateful for you two releasing me from my slumber. For that, I offer you my service until my debt of gratitude is repaid."

"Who are you? Are you Shadow?", Shine asked.

The hedgehog raised his head to look up at the feline and said, "Yes and no."

Fuego didn't drop his guard for a second, feeling that the hedgehog could be a potential threat, "Explain yourself."

"I will when you do. I'd like to know who it is that I owe my freedom to.", the hedgehog said.

Shine seemed to think it was fair enough, so she pointed to herself and said, "My name is Shine the Cat. This is my brother, Fuego the Hedgehog."

The hedgehog rose to his feet and then said, "I'm Aero. Aero the Hedgehog."

Shine asked, " What did you mean by yes and no? You know, when I asked about you being Shadow."

Aero looked from Shine to Fuego then shook his head, "I'll reveal on my own time. Now, how may I serve you?"

Fuego sighed and shook his head, "Could you start by telling us where we are and how we get out of here?"

Aero looked around the room that they were all in and then looked at his hand before he said, "We are in G.U.N. Eastern base. Looks abandoned though."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Aero... I see it's abandoned, but what is G.U.N?", Fuego asked.

Aero didn't answer at first, and he looked like he wasn't going to answer until he grabbed Shine and took a large bound to the side. Fuego moved after them, especially when he saw a large robotic foot come down where they were just standing. It was oddly shaped and yellow with a green leg. Aero put Shine down next to a computer and Fuego joined them before he said, "Stay here.", and he ran, or rather skated, to the robot. Flames came from under his shoes and he started to skate quickly, circling the robot that reminded them of a great big grasshopper with no front legs. It had a gun mounted on the head of the robot and it faced Aero. A cold voice came from the robot as it said, "Prototype, return to your pod or be destroyed."

Aero seemed to smirk and stopped running to say, "I'll take my chances. After all, I'm not going back to sleep anytime soon."

The machine seemed to process the response to the command and the clicking from the gun being armed could be heard. Aero stood were he was and simply stuck his hand in front of him and aimed it at the great robot, "If you have any logic in that CPU of your's, you will back off."

The robot only fired quick rounds as the machine gun began to go off. Aero on the other hand seemed to be in one spot then the next with out any effort. Fuego and Shine both watched in sheer awe, knowing only one hedgehog in their lives that and it was the hedgehog they called Shadow. Aero suddenly appeared just above the robot when he shouted, "Chaos Inferno!"

From those words being said, a strange flame was summoned in Aero's hand. The flame was green like an emerald, and it had an unnatural glow and feel to it. Shine then felt her jewel in her hand glow. She looked at it and how it reacted to Aero's flame and was puzzled. Unfortunately for her, while she was looking at her charm Aero was demolishing the robot. The flames had melted the armor on the robot and exposed a lot of inner circuits. The robot seemed to spark up and shout, "Malfunction! Malfunction! Prototype escape! Malfunction!"

Aero seemed to growl when he heard the word Prototype and then went into a spin dash directly into the center of robot's body, thus making it crash into flames. From the flames, Aero stood and looked at Fuego and Shine. Fuego had seen the whole thing and was in sheer shock. Though it was a fight that only lasted a few seconds, it was something he didn't expect to see. Shine looked up and saw Aero with in the flames, and could only see the silhouette. Aside from the blue eyes, Aero looked and sounded exactly like the Shadow that she and Fuego had known. Why was this so?

"Why are you two staring at me?", Aero asked as he stepped out of the flames.

Shine blinked a moment to snap out of her little daze and said, "N-nothing... um... now... thank you for protecting us."

"All apart of the service that I am to give.", Aero said, taking a bow.

Fuego still had an uneasy feeling about this hedgehog, so he asked, "Why is it that you want to serve us? I mean, most would have said that saving our lives was enough, but you are actually willing to serve?"

"If you must know, it's because of this. Freedom is the right of all beings. Though I may not look it, I have been asleep in that pod prison for over fifty years, or more if the computer over there had the right date. That being said, I was alive, but I couldn't truly live. You two freed me and have given me my life to live, for that I must pay what I owe.", Aero stated with his arms crossed.

Fuego blinked a few times and actually felt a little bad for snapping at Aero. He should have known the whole imprisonment deal since his sister had been going through such an ordeal herself. Granted it wasn't for as long as Aero here, but it was still something that he felt for his sister over. With a sigh, Fuego looked up at the ivory and blue hedgehog with a faint smile before saying, "We appreciate it. Thank you, Aero."

Shine smiled at Fuego accepting Aero's generosity, and then coughed to get them attention, "Ahem. I believe we were going to leave this place."

Aero nodded and looked to a wall before cracking his knuckles. He went into a spin dash and went through the wall, creating a tunnel that lead to the outside. In this case, more like the surface. They were beneath the floor and earth, so Aero had to spin more upwards until he reached sky. Unfortunately, he didn't get the view he had wanted after waking up. Aero stood at the opening on the surface for a while to just stare at the surroundings in shock and horror. The horror wasn't shown, but he must have felt it. With a drop down the hole, and a nod to his new companions, he returned back up the hole to look at the horrid view again. Shine was the first one up, followed by Fuego, who was helping her up the hole, and they all could see it as well.

Darkness. The trees were dying or dead. Ruin, shifting rocks and dirt on every corner. The sky was gray and covered in clouds with out a speckle of sun to be seen. It was obviously day time, but with the clouds everywhere, it was hard to tell if the sun was going down or coming up. No matter what direction they looked, there was only wasteland that went on and on. A question plagued the minds of all three as they looked all around. What happened to this world, and is there anyone here besides them?

**Author's Note**

**What a weird way to start a story. I had a bunch of different opening chapters for this story, but I thought it would be less confusing if I had started it this way. Right after the Silvaze trilogy. Makes more sense, and it at least let's people take a deep breath and relax about Fuego and Shine's fate. And as you can see, my other OC made and appearance. Strange world, but I guess that for you to say and not me. Please leave a review if you would. Feedback has been what kept me going so far, and it still keeps me going.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Nightmares**

Loud cackling is heard in every direction that she takes. All coming closer like they were ready to surround her and take her in a trap. The rain hit her ebony fur with intense ferocity that she thought it was going to knock her to the ground. Before she could get a chance to catch her breath, she was pulled backwards by her dread locks. A dull ding and jungle came from her hair as glimmering pieces of metal seem to come from her head and parts of her hair. A hand coming to her mouth as the other voices that were laughing at her attempt to escape. Her shining blue ocean eyes were moving every which way and that, but there was no help for her. With some bit of her strength, she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that it would attract some help. All it did was cause her attacker to shake her repeatedly. Back and forth, left and right.

"Wake up! Wake up!", a voice shouted.

"No... no... stop... ah!", she cried out and her eyes closed for a second, and when they opened, she was dry as a bone. No rain, no woods, no horrible laughing.

The hands that were on her shoulders loosening their grip and she looked up at a scarlet and golden bird. His eyes were sincere and a gentle shade of purple. His mohawk hair style had his feathers sticking up and moving down towards the back. With a sigh of relief, the bird let go completely and collapsed onto a near by chair.

The girl that was laying down, looked all around her and realized that she was definitely not in the woods that she used to be. It was a small dimly lit wooden room. Most likely a cabin that was meant to support one person, because the kitchen, bed room, and even the living area was all in the same place. Obviously she was in the only bed and the bird that was sitting next to her must have been sore from not sleeping. The evidence was sure when she saw the bags under the birds eyes. Why was he up so late, or hardly sleeping? The girl wanted to speak, but when she opened her mouth so say something, she felt some pain in her throat.

The bird seemed to notice and made a silencing gesture with his finger to his mouth, "Sh, don't worry about speaking. You went through a lot, child. Believe me, when I found you, you weren't in the best condition. I'll tell you all about it when it stops raining out there. It's funny really, the rain didn't start until a few weeks ago, and I found you the day after it had started."

A few weeks ago? Could she have been asleep all that time? The girl wanted to open her mouth again and try to speak, but again, that pain stopped her from doing so. When she moved, she also felt a pain in her abdominal area. What ever happened to her, she was afraid it rendered her immobile for a while. She tried lifting the covers to have a look, but the bird put a hand on her's and shook his head.

"You're a strange echidna. Never met one with black fur. Orange, red, and sometimes brown and white, but never have I met one that has black fur or have those strange pieces of metal in your hair. You are truly one of a kind. Oh, where did my manors go off to. I should have begun with introductions.", the bird said and let the echidna girl's hand go, "My name is Pryxo the Phoenix. Now, I know what you're thinking. Phoenix's are supposed to be some majestic bird that can use fire."

That wasn't what she was thinking at all. Yes, she wanted to know the name of the bird that was taking care of her, but she didn't really care about what he was and about a Phoenix's true way. Of course, because she couldn't speak to let him know who she was, the phoenix continued speaking, "You see, I can do the whole fire business, but the whole majestic stuff is greatly exaggerated. I have been around quite a number of years, despite my appearance, and what ever sheen I had has been gone for a while. Anyway, I'm sure such a nice lady like yourself didn't wake up to hear me ramble."

Finally, something that sounded like music to her ears. Though she was flattered to be called a nice lady, she really wanted to get to the part where she ended up the way she was. Pryxo got to his feet and walked to a candle that was already lit and he walked over to a cabinet on the other side of the room. Outside, the echidna girl could hear the wind howling and the rain just continuing to fall. She began pondering how she was asleep or even just out of it for weeks and not have noticed anything that was wrong. That's when that strange nightmare started to creep into her thoughts again. One of the laughing voices calling to her.

"Jingling witch! Jingling witch! Come on out, Tambourine!", she could hear it in her head as the memories started flooding back in. Three large figures that were chasing her. Calling her by name, "Tambourine! Tambourine!"

"Excuse me miss, I don't mean to interrupt your day dreaming, but you need to drink something.", Pryxo had said while holding out a glass bottle.

The girl that is apparently named Tambourine turned to face Pryxo as he held out the bottle. It was filled with a clear and glowing liquid that didn't look to appetizing. But, he opened the bottle and poured some of it onto a spoon and put it close to her, "Now, either you open up and drink it like you did even when you were out of it, or I just get the funnel.", he then laughed, but went back to a serious type of manner.

She sighed silently and opened her mouth to take it in, and she could feel the cool liquid land on her tongue. It was bitter and she wanted to spit it out, but Pryxo looked at her sternly and she swallowed it with out hesitation. Tambourine made a face at him that suggested she didn't like the taste of the liquid that he had provided.

"Believe me, if you expect me to tell you what it is exactly, you would be surprised, and you would just stop drinking it and would end the treatment. It helps, especially with the wounds you got. I promise to fill you in on all the things that happened to you, unless you already remember what happened. Until then, just trust me, and rest. You should be able to gain your voice back in a few days. Just be patient. And don't look under your covers. Got it?", Pryxo asked.

Tambourine just stared up at him and tried a little trick to see if she could reach him through the a special way that she had learned to somewhat control, but it proved to have failed. She was still too weak to do much of anything but agree. With a nod of her head, she looked out the window and slowly drifted back into sleep.

A week had passed and Tambourine had gained her voice back. The rain outside had begun to lighten up a little bit, so some sunshine was able to light the room up as well. This meant she could see more of the cabin and it looked relatively cozy. Tambourine still couldn't speak loudly, but she could at least tell the phoenix her name. It was rather funny to see his reaction.

"Tambourine? That is seriously your name?", Pryxo had asked when she introduced herself formally.

Tambourine nodded and let the metal in her hair jingle against each other to add to her point. Pryxo slapped his knee and laughed a little bit. It wasn't that the name was so strange, or that she was strange. It was the fact that her name was fitting for her and the fact that her hair jingled. Apparently, he never heard a good name before, so it was a pleasant surprise outside of the norm. Tambourine was willing to admit that the bird was rather strange, but he was generous enough to allow her in his cabin, give her his bed, and food and drink. Why?

Tambourine found some courage and strength to ask, "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Why does the lion hunt the zebra? Why does the wind blow? It's just natural. Or, I am just doing this all in the hopes of redemption.", Pryxo began.

"What do you mean redemption?", Tambourine asked and started feeling pain in her throat again.

Pryxo looked up at the ceiling and began to sigh, "I told you that I have been on this world for more years than many should be alive for. Some say that something like this is a gift. It's a curse. To wonder the earth. I've seen and done things that I am not proud of. Death, ruin, conquest... some of which I was a part of. That is a lot to bare for someone who has to live through it, and remember it as well... I saw you lying in the rain, close to death... and I thought... if I just left you there, I'd be haunted for a while..."

Tambourine was a little overwhelmed by this. Not only by the fact that he had been alive for so long, but because he wanted to make some amends. Tambourine swallowed hard before asking the toughest question of all, "What happened to me?"

Pryxo seemed to hesitate, like he was weighing every word he was about to say very carefully before he would come out and say something. Never a good sign when the barer of news is taking a while to respond.

"Tambourine... I want you to relax, because... this may be a little overwhelming even for you...", Pryxo said, "I found you in the forest in the middle of the night... I don't know what possessed me to start a walk, but I needed it... Now, when I found you... you were horrible mutilated with in an inch of your life. I tell you not to look under the covers because I don't want you to see the scars just yet... your abdomen was cut open, and your throat was damaged. You were a complete mess. I thought that there was no way I could save you until I found you moaning and still alive. I took you into my cabin and tended to your wounds. I even began analyzing you."

"You're a doctor?", Tambourine asked, getting very afraid to hear anymore of this story, but she needed to know what happened.

Pryxo took a deep breath and said, "I worked with doctors, and I saw all that happened... basically, who ever did this to you wanted to make sure that you never had children in the future, or even live in the event you still could... that wasn't all... Tambourine... they did things to you that men should never do... things that you are clearly not ready for..."

Tambourine wasn't stupid. She knew what all this wad leading to. Tears began to form in her eyes and she just looked up at the ceiling and just wished she could blink this whole mess away. She just wanted to go away. Go back to her mom, dad, and... dad? No... she could never go back to him, or her home. That's why she was in the forest in the first place. If she were at home, she'd been safe and unsoiled. The tears began to flow even more, and she realized that it went from silent crying to complete sobbing. Pain, anger, fear and more was what she felt at once. Pryxo reached out and put a hand on her shoulder before she looked at him with her tearful eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tambourine... if I could, I would have gone on my walk sooner, and maybe found the men who did this to you... I would have made them pay... or even stopped it before it ever happened...", Pryxo said and he brought her into a a caring embrace.

"Pryxo... I... I...", Tambourine muttered under every sob which might as well have sent fire up her abdomen.

Pryxo shook his head and just held Tambourine to him, and refused to let go. He wasn't going to let her suffer alone, "You don't need to say anything, Tambourine. You are safe now, and you are recovering. I won't let anything bad happen to you anymore."

Tambourine just continued to cry on his shoulder. Crying until she fell asleep. Her sleep wasn't a pleasant one though. Now that she understood what had happened to her, all made sense in her dreams. Rather, they were nightmares. The three large males that tracked her down in the woods, taunted her by calling her a witch, and then taking her roughly and ignoring her screams. One thought went through her mind as it happened in the dream. Make it all stop!

Another week had gone by and Tambourine began making a quicker recovery. Still drinking that liquid that Pryxo carried around and started walking around to get back into the habit of moving. The nightmares still haunt her every night, but Pryxo is always there to help. She felt that there was a debt to be paid. That she needed to try and be square with him. It wasn't that she felt it was the honorable thing to do, it was that she didn't like to owe people. Even when she grew up in her village, she never enjoyed it. One day, she and Pryxo were outside to get another day of physical therapy done.

"So, you feel like talking about yourself?", Pryxo asked, "Because I introduced myself, and explained myself, but you never mentioned anything about you. Kind of rude you know."

Tambourine blinked when this question was presented. She really didn't want to talk about herself at all, but she knew that if she was going to be in his cabin until she was fully recovered, she may as well talk a little, "Well... I came from a village of echidnas that live deep in the woods. A kind of secret tribe. Thing was... I was different from all the rest... aside from being born with black fur, I was born with these pieces of metal in my hair..."

"Well, I'll admit that it is a little unusual be born like that, but who were your parents?", Pryxo asked.

Tambourine looked down and shook her head, "I know my mom... as for my father, I never met him... not that he would have cared to know a monster like me..."

Pryxo tilted his head to the side in curiosity, "What do you mean? You seem nice."

"In my village, I grew up being called a freak, monster, witch... there wasn't a name that I wasn't called. The reason was because of my... well, mother called it a gift... my curse.", Tambourine began, "I can use the shadows to look into your mind and heart... and manipulate your movements..."

Pryxo raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Show me how it works."

Tambourine shook her head, making the metal in her hair jingle some, "I can't. I don't exactly have control of it. It happens when ever it wants to. When our shadows cross, I might or might not be able to look into your mind and heart... or I may ore may not make you do something against your will... It's not the only thing I can do with them..."

Pryxo was looking her dead in the eye while she spoke and he nodded, understanding that every word she was saying was indeed the truth. He began pondering of ways to help further if he could. What he didn't realize was that his shadow crossed her's and her power began to take effect. Every thought that he was having was being sent to her. It meant more debt to be repaid. Like it wasn't enough that he did all he did and that she was going to do all she could to repay it, but now it's going to pile up more and more. Then she detected something about Phoenix tears. That was a bit unusual.

"Um... what do you mean about a bottle of Phoenix tears?", Tambourine asked even though Pryxo never said anything about it.

Pryxo blinked and that was all the proof he needed to know her powers were true, "Well, you know that stuff I make you drink every day? Those are my tears. Before you freak out and gag, a Phoenix's tears have strong healing properties. And because of your condition, if I sent you to a regular doctor, you would have been gone... hehe... gross, huh?"

Tambourine could have given a disturbed eye twitch, but she thought about the old saying that desperate times call for desperate measures. She had already seen the scars on her body as well and it wasn't any surprise about the damage she saw. The scars will never look right, and she may never have a child in the near future, but she will not allow this to drag her down, "Not at all. Compared to what you said those men did to me, it's a glass of wine for all I care."

Pryxo chuckled then asked, "If I told you that maybe I could help you with your powers, what would you say?"

Tambourine saw this question coming and she was ready to decline it, but then thought if it will make their debt square, then it wouldn't be so bad, "Well, I;ll say yes, but how are you going to do that?"

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises.", Pryxo said and went into the cabin with Tambourine following close.

Tambourine watched Pryxo pack sleeping bags, the bottle of his tears, and some food that he had stored. Mostly fruits, but it was what kept her alive. Tambourine asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

"You and I are going on a soul searching journey. I need to move away from here anyway, and I can't help you if we stay in this one spot. Now, I probably better get you into something that will cover you up in public. I live secretly, and if those guys see you alive, things may not end well.", Pryxo said and pulled out black cloaks with hoods.

Tambourine knew that Pryxo was right, and looked at the cloaks in a mix of awe and mystery. When she heard that they might meet the males, she felt one need course through her. Revenge. With the thoughts and storm of different emotions just brewing in her, she dawned the cloak and put up the hood. The cloak matched her fur, and was rather comfortable. Pryxo put his on and nodded in her direction. With a step out the door, they were ready to go. There was just one little thing that Pryxo had to do before leaving. He turned to face the cabin and snapped his fingers. With in seconds, the little cabin was ablaze.

**Author's Note**

**Didn't take me long to update, huh? Well, I told you I would be back with a vengeance. These guys are back, hooray! But they aren't the same as you last saw them. To quote Sonic, "Strange isn't it?"**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed another character introduction. I look forward to writing more and maybe introducing a few other characters along the way. Leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Civilization? **

It had been a few days since Fuego, Shine and Aero had begun their journey to explore the unkowns of this world. From what they saw so far, there was only wastelands and a few abandoned houses. It was hard to tell if anyone had lived there, unless you looked inside to see the skeletons lying on the ground. Mobians and some strange ones that Fuego and Shine couldn't identify. It was later revealed to be something called a human. Neither of the siblings had ever heard of such creatures except in the history books about Robotnik and Eggman Nega. But all that was past in their opinions.

"Aero, I've been meaning to ask. Why were you in frozen sleep?", Fuego asked while they were walking through what must have been a forest.

Aero just kept walking in silence. It was the same ever since they began their journey. Walk, talk a little bit, rest, keep walking, sleep. Of course they ate, if there was a berry bush here and there or if they found a lizard and cooked it on an open fire. Thing was, Aero never answered any of the questions about himself when it was asked. Today must have been an exception because he said, "I did something a long time ago."

"Was it something bad?", the curious little hedgehog asked.

Aero didn't take long to answer, "I don't remember. I was just thrown into the pod one morning when I woke up where I was living at the time."

"You mean the base, right?", Shine asked, wanting to know a thing or two as well.

Aero didn't seem very comfortable with this whole interrogation and actually looked like he was going to do one of his silent treatments. Luckily that wasn't the case. Aero merely stopped and hit a rotting tree, making it fall down with a crash, "It's getting kind of dark. Let's make camp. I'll tell you what I want to tell you by a fire."

"Don't you mean what we want you to tell us?", Shine asked.

"No.", Aero only said and began positioned himself in front of the tree before muttering, "Chaos Whirlwind."

The effect still strike them in awe even though Shine and Fuego had already seen it before. With Chaos Energy flowing from him into the air, a small tornado of the Chaos Energy was formed. They knew it could be bigger if he wanted to make it as such, but it was a tree and it wasn't worth the energy. The Tornado tore the tree apart and made slashes on what ever shreds were left. Aero's Chaos powers were very much like a hedgehog they had known from where they come from, but Aero had some that he didn't.

"I'm going to search for your meal, You two can get to work on the fire.", Aero said and he began walking through the forest on his own.

Shine and Fuego looked at each other before getting to work of making a nice pit to put the wood in and start the fire. Not five minutes into the work did Shine say, "Hey... something has been bothering me..."

"What is it, Shine?", Fuego asked.

"You remember what the date said on the computer, right?", Shine asked getting a little shaking as she started asking these questions.

"Not really. I mean the screen was high and I am a little short.", Fuego said and finished arranging the wood before taking a seat by the pile.

Shine took a seat next to him and said, "Well, the date was a little off. It was like thirty or so years behind. I thought it was just wrong, but the computer was working fine when Aero messed with it."

"What are you getting at?", Fuego asked.

"I think we're in the past.. but...", Shine started.

Fuego interrupted, "Are you crazy? Look at this place. Where we were, the place was green and beautiful. Not this. Even mom and dad said it was beautiful when they were kids. This is no way Mobius, past or other wise."

"I thought of that too, and about why this place looked so bad... but it's the only thing I can think of.", Shine said while playing with the dirt with a twig.

Fuego face palmed and then started the fire with a snap of his fingers. Being a pyrokinetic and psychokintic did have it's advantages on the best of time, "This is clearly just another world, Shine. I mean look at it. It's all damaged and stuff... besides, the only thing I want to do is find a way back home."

"How do you know there is a home to go back to. Don't you remember how we got here?", Shine asked.

"Not really... It's still fuzzy to me.", Fuego said, "I remember going through some colorful tunnel, being scared, holding on to you, and that's about it."

"I remember that too... I even had a dream about it... and the voice that talked to us as well...", Shine said before taking out her charm to look at it through the fire. If the sky wasn't so full of clouds, she would have held it to a hopefully full moon and watched it change colors. Not, it was just a clear little charm that she carried with her.

"I remember the voice too... I just wish I could remember what it wanted...", Fuego said, "I can't remember a thing passed that."

"Same here... but I remember Tikal, Knuckles, and... Jasper...", Shine said, staring at her charm.

Fuego heard the way she said those names and sighed. He kind of knew that they were either gone or possibly safe, but he knew that mom and dad were definitely gone for ever. He can see the way they looked in one of the fragments of the flying still pictures in his mind right now. Perhaps there was no home to go back to, but he wanted to at least cling to that bit of hope, "I remember too... They all just gave up everything for us... for you..."

Shine's eyes were full of tears when they heard Aero come walking back with more lizards of the wild variety. They were large and brown colored. Fuego and Shine were getting tired of eating that stuff, but until they could find another kind of food, it was all they had. Aero stuck the lizards on a stick and started roasting them on the fire when he said, "I'll tell you some things about me, and you will tell me about you. No one lies, right?"

"I promise.", Shine said, wiping the tears from her eyes quickly.

"You alright?", Aero asked, his expression not really changing to show concern, but it was kind of him to ask anyway.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you for asking... would you like to talk first?", Shine asked.

Aero nodded and began, "I was on Space Colony called A.R.K. It my birthplace and a facility for scientific progress. Many things happened there. Some good and some bad."

"Could you be any more vague?", Fuego asked.

"It'll be clear. Just listen. They began work on trying to create the world's Ultimate Life Form. One that could be immune to all diseases in the world. It also needed to be able to be a weapon for the military as well. That is where the whole G.U.N. Thing came in. Since it was a secret, they named it Project Shadow. A prototype was made. Shadow 1: Bio Lizard.", Aero explained, "It was too aggressive and proved to be a threat to the entire station, so it was locked down and put into a similar sleep to mine. Then, another prototype was put into production."

"Seriously, what does all this have to do with you? Did you help in making these things?", Fuego asked, getting a little annoyed with the history lesson.

Aero smirked and then pointed to himself, "You're talking to the second prototype. I'm Shadow 2."

Fuego blinked then looked to Shine, who was looking at him too before they both looked at Aero and asked, "What?"

"I'm the Prototype to the Ultimate Life Form. Shadow 2. Thing was, I didn't like the idea of being labeled the whole time, so I named myself Aero. It was a fitting name thanks to my color and powers.", Aero explained, "I was put through a series of tests to see if I could handle any disease and still be docile around humans and Mobians alike. I was, until I was knocked out in one of the tests."

"What do you mean knocked out?", Shine asked.

Aero sighed, "In one of the tests, I was to find my limit with my powers and see if I could push it passed the limit. I tried and was knocked out. The next morning, I woke up to be stuffed in a pod and put into a frozen sleep."

Fuego and Shine just looked at each other with a mixture of confusion and simple shock. They never would have thought of something like that, or even think it was possible to create life. Shine looked at Aero and said, "That is all true? Every word?"

"I have no reason to lie about it, and I trust that you won't think I'm crazy. Now, it's your turn.", Aero said, crossing his arms.

Fuego looked at the lizards that were cooking and pulled them out of the fire to give them to everyone and himself. Shine took a deep breath and began her explanation, "You see... we really don't know what to tell you... you could say that we both just woke up here. Where we are from, the grass is green, the forests are beautiful, the sky has stars, the sun, and the moon. This place isn't our home... where we are from... we're... royalty..."

Aero looked like he was digesting the words that just flowed from her mouth and was ready to say something, but instead, he remained quiet, like he was expecting more. Shine looked to Fuego and hoped he could explain it better. Fuego took a bite of his lizard chewed and swallowed before he said, "I'm Prince Fuego and She is Princess Shine. We came from Forest Kingdom, where Queen Blaze and King Silver ruled."

"That is something that I am a little curious about. How is it that you, a cat and a hedgehog be related?", Aero asked.

"Our mom was a cat and our dad was a hedgehog. We are kind of half-breeds, just one side shows more than the other... Tails once tried to explain it to us, but I never understood.", Shine said.

"Who?", Aero asked.

"The royal doctor, and one of the close friends of our father and the king before him. Anyway, in another kingdom, a king wanted to marry the first daughter born in our family. That was Shine and mother and father didn't like it, so they faked her death at birth and she had to live in secret. Then I was born and she and I were kind of a happy pair, until tat king decided to try and take Shine away from my family and kill everyone else in it.", Fuego said, "Then, the shaman of our home used something called the Master Emerald to open a portal and we ended up here. Where ever here is."

Aero took a bite of his lizard and then sighed, "Alright, I believe you. It seems strange, until you said something about a Master Emerald."

"Huh? What do you mean?", Shine asked.

"The Master Emerald is a great and powerful gem. It's existence here is something that many have fought over, and maybe still do.", Aero explained.

Shine blinked and felt that maybe it was what she needed to prove that this was the past. Or at least an alternate one. Fuego must have gotten the same idea, because he looked at Shine with understanding and nodded as well.

"Aero, we think we might be from a different future...", Shine said.

Aero stopped in the middle of eating and looked at her, "Why do you say that?"

"Because when I saw the date on that computer you looked at back on the base, I thought it might have been off, but you said it might be accurate. Fuego and I have been debating on whether or not this was the past or a different world. Then you said something about the Master Emerald and it got me. We're just in a weird past.", Shine said and nodded.

"Okay... that might explain it. Then, do you plan on getting back to your time?", Aero asked.

"If there is a way. We got here in a portal that was just leading to some colorful tunnel and we just were lost in it before landing here. Then we heard a weird noise and saw pieces of our world just pass by us. Maybe it's gone forever...", Shine said while looking down.

Aero seemed to think a little before eating more of his lizard and said, "Well, whether it be time or space, you are here now. And we all need to find out what is with this world."

Shine asked, "Are you sure that anything is wrong?"

"Yes. Because before I was put into my sleep, I saw the world. It was green, beautiful and something I wanted to see. This is not the world that I was looking at.", Aero said.

All three began to digest these words before Shine had begun to yawn. Aero stood up and turned his back on them both. This was another part of the day that they all knew well. Sleep, but Aero would stand watch the whole time. Any normal creature would have slept, but he always seemed to stay up through the night and the day. Shine and Fuego both got into a comfortable part of the ground, which is hard to find, and slowly drifted into sleep.

The next morning, Shine woke with a yawn and stretched her back, tail and flicked her ears a little to make sure they were able to respond to sound. Her mother made a habit of teaching her all she needed to learn about being on her guard. She did notice the lack of a certain ivory and blue hedgehog though. It odd, but she quickly assumed that he was out hunting for breakfast. She wished that she could do something for him in return, but there wasn't much she could do.

Fuego woke up as well and did a similar checklist that Shine had gone through, and asked, "Where did Aero go?"

"I don't know. Don't worry about it. He'll be back soon, I hope.", Shine said before getting up to stretch her legs.

As if on cue, Aero had materialized from the eery wood and he had a small smile on his face. Considering that they only knew him for a few days, the smile seemed out of place. But that was before he said, "Well, we won't need to camp. I found a place where we can bathe, eat real food, and might give a few answers as to what's going on around here."

At the sound of bathe and food, Shine and Fuego tackled Aero's feet and started kissing his rocket shoes as they said, "Thank you!"

With that, they began walking through the woods with Aero in the lead. In the distance, they could see what appeared to be large structures. Possibly a city. The thought of this made Shine run as fast as she could towards the structures with Fuego close behind. Aero maintained his pace, not being in any hurry at all. Unfortunately for Shine and Fuego, they didn't see a warm and happy looking city. Instead, they saw only ruins and people in front of fires. How was this good news? There were mobians, and humans who were all gathering around fires, while their kids were messing around the ruins. Sure they were clean and fed, but not exactly like in great living conditions. One feline with red fur came up with a smile on his face, "Welcome. You two must be the ones that Aero told me about. Where is that hedgehog, anyway?"

"He's coming... what happened here?", Shine asked.

The feline shook his head. He was dressed in what appeared to be a business suit and, though it was torn where the elbows were and at the knees. One of his ears seemed to have been bitten on one side of it, and his eyes were a very weird shade of brown. His accent suggested Italian roots. He looked over to the Fuego and said, "I will be more than willing to help you both, but first we must eat. It is breafast time, and we shouldn't starve."

Aero finally caught up with his usual expression on his face. When all three were together, the cat lead the way to one of the buildings. It looked like it had fallen into it and was going to even collapse, but it didn't and even looked like it was like that for a few years. They went inside the lobby and sat at a table with some food. They were definitely expecting them, Aero must have run into them earlier.

"Take a seat, my friends. It's just cereal, but it must be better than the lizard that Aero told me you have been eating for a while." , the cat said while sitting and enjoying a spoon full, "Oh, where are my manners. I am Dimitri. And you are?"

"I am Shine the Cat.", Shine said.

Fuego took a bow before taking a seat, "The name's Fuego, and we guess you already met Aero."

Dimitri nodded, "He is a very interesting hedgehog. Now, from what I understand, you all have been living in a cave for a while."

Shine and Fuego both looked over at Aero, who was eating his cereal with an understanding expression. What exactly did he tell him? Then Shine caught on. Aero must have lied to protect their true identities. So she nodded and Fuego nodded as well, not really understanding.

"Well, I'll start a little bit back. You see, things haven't been the same since the Eggmen took over. They are a couple of very strange fellows. I was their when they took control of everything.", Dimitri said, shaking his head and flattening his ears.

Shine had only remembered one Eggman from where she was from, and that was Eggman- Nega from the story that her father told of. So hearing of another Eggman was very strange indeed. Aero asked, "So, they both rule equally?"

"Oh no. Far from it. Yes, they did separate from each other to the south and the north, but that's because they created a border between in the equator that we call the wastes. Nothing lives there that we know of. There could be monsters there, but I am ahead of myself. Eggman, or rather, Robotnik controls the north while Eggman-Nega, the other Eggman, controls the south.", Dimitri explained, "Such a fall it was as well. Not even the Freedom Fighters could take them on, or G.U.N for that matter."

Fuego blinked and asked, "So, evil took over."

"Afraid so... but we do have hope, assuming one of the Eggmen don't start seizing possession of certain people and certain items.", Dimitri said, "For you see, they have been quiet for a few years, building their kingdoms and rebuilding fallen cities in their image... until we received word from the remaining Freedom Fighters..."

"They are still around?", Shine asked.

"Very few of them. They hide in places where they will be safe. You see, they said that they have been on the move, looking for people and these gems called Chaos Emeralds. We aren't very sure of what purpose the people will serve to the Eggmen, but that is why we try to keep low.", Dimitri said with a sadness in his voice, "Mostly children they have searched."

"What do they want?", Shine asked, to horrified to think of food, "I mean, what have they done?"

"The Eggmen have their own secret weapons going on, but are both connected to a small of kids. I know of a friend that lives in another sector, but you must be careful if I send you in that direction, because it means crossing the wastes.", Dimitri sighed.

Shine began trying to understand what was being told, and then Aero finally said, "So, Eggmen have taken over, the world is divided, and they are looking for something, I got that. Hoe are they doing it?"

"With their Generals. There is Berg, who works for Robotnik. He's an arctic owl who is wise, but is working with him, so we question how wise he truly is. The other is Sunder. He's a thunder bird with a serious hunger for power. Both have their own armies that have been searching the lands on opposite territories to find what ever the Eggmen are looking for. As well as a few other things...", Dimitri said, shuddering.

"Why are you telling us this?", Shine asked, getting a very uneasy feeling from the way Dimitri was talking. It seemed like... an act.

"Oh, because, you see, I feel that my prey should understand my position of things. That there is no hard feelings.", Dimitri said and snapped his fingers.

Robots all came down from the ceiling, and aimed their guns at Shine and Fuego. Both were surprised by the robots just coming from no where. They were wearing ivory metal plating that reflected the faces of their targets on them. The only one who didn't show surprise was Aero, and he kept his arms crossed while looking at the robots before saying, "If this is what you all call civilization, then I really don't know why I wanted to come down from where I lived in the first place."

All while this had been taking place, Tambourine has been traveling in a deserted wasteland with Pryxo. She understood that she was to go with him anywhere, but a nice piece of civilization would have been nice. A good home, maybe a hut or something of the sort. Not to mention the fact that over the past few days, she had been put through a series of meditations in the most weirdest of places. Meditation on top of a very large rock in a sand storm, another in a cave filled with screeching wild creatures. All of this was supposed to help her with control of her shadow powers, but she was beginning to doubt it.

"Pryxo... how long must I be put through this?", she asked as she was sitting waist deep in a pool of cave water, the only light provided was by a candle light by Pryxo's flames.

Pryxo, who had both of his eyes closed, and his legs crossed, opened an eye and looked over at her, "Until you get some discipline for yourself."

Tambourine puffed her cheeks in displeasure, but sighed and went back to meditating, trying to only focus on her breathing. When nothing came to her mind other than her breathing, her patience began to get thinner and thinner. So she got out of the water quickly and walked over to the mouth of the cave. They had left the forest that had been her home for so long and came to the lands where nothing was supposed to live. Pryxo said it was the safest place to be if they were going to train with out being disturbed by problematic people, but who would be a problem in this world?

Tambourine looked up into the sky and was surprised that the sand storm had stopped. Instead, there was thunder and lightning, but as strange as it looked, no rain. Pryxo was the first to be by Tambourine's side and with a bit of a dire look on his face, "Tambourine, get your things. We need to go."

"What? Why?", Tambourine asked, looking from Pryxo to the wastes.

Pryxo looked at the sky with his eyes flashing in what looked like rage. Tambourine may not have been with him long, but she never once saw him angry before, so it must have been bad to see him angry now. Pryxo kept silent and just put his hood up to cover his face.

Tambourine asked again, "Pryxo, tell me why we are moving now?"

"I just don't like the weather here. Plus, we are close to a city. We'll be safe there.", Pryxo said.

Somehow, she didn't like the way he used 'safe' in this situation. She looked over at the sky and saw how the lightning was striking ever so closer to where they were and shuddered. Taking her things, and putting up her hood, Tambourine began walking with Pryxo towards Shine and Aero's location. Unaware that a pair of eyes in the sky were watching them, while the lightning struck to reveal an avian shape. A sinister grin showing on his face when the lightning flashed yet again. Of course, Pryxo knew he was there, and didn't like his inactivity. When lightning struck yet again, there was a loud thunderous boom, but the problem was that it wasn't from the thunder.

Both Tambourine and Pryxo looked towards where they were going and saw flames in the distance. The loud boom was that of an explosion, and from the look of it, they needed to get to it and ascertain it's origin.

**Author's Note**

**Sorry for not updating sooner. But at least things look a little more interesting now that some of the introductions are done and over with. Expect to see some more introductions soon, but for now, I hope you enjoyed reading some background on the characters for those who never read the Silver and Blaze Trilogy I made. Be sure to leave a comment and I am now accepting other people's characters. If you wish to see one or more of your characters show up in my story, please follow the guidelines here:**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Age:**

**Species:**

**Appearance:**

**Alignment:**

**Backstory:**

**Thank you again for reading and for your time to look at my story. Please leave a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Facades **

The thunder was getting dangerously close, almost as if it were following the echidna and her phoenix companion. The fur on the back of her neck was sticking up at the thought of this being anymore dangerous than it already seemed. Pryxo, on the other hand, stayed calm through the whole situation and kept his pace always constant. Unfortunately, Tambourine still jumped and yelped when the lightning came down right in front of them. She quickly hid behind the steadfast phoenix and looked at what materialized when the dust settled. It was a rather strange looking golden bird with feathers that seemed to be emitting it's own static electricity.

"Well, it's been a while. You did well with hiding your tracks, but I am curious as to why you decided to come out of hiding now.", the bird said, electricity sparking from every inch of his being.

Pryxo sighed and shook his head, "You keep pursuing me, even when I told you that my position was clear. As for why I came out, those are my reasons."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend there?", the bird asked, looking at Tambourine's fear like it were candy.

The phoenix gritted his teeth slightly before saying, "None of your business, Sparky!"

"The name is Sunder. You know I hated that nickname!", The bird called Sunder yelled with some rage, making thunder come crashing down.

Since it was dark enough and the flash was so quick, Tambourine was able to get a quick glance into Sunder's thoughts. It wasn't the most interesting sort. From what she felt, he was power hungry and sought to feed on the fear that he could create or see. This might explain why he seemed rather interested in her all of a sudden. Tambourine was very much afraid. Down to the last atom of her being.

Pryxo chuckled when he saw Sunder's reaction and said, "You were always so reckless. Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go investigate that city over there."

"Not till you hear my proposal, brother. You see, Eggman-Nega is willing to pay handsomely for us both to help him over power Berg and take over the rest of the world. Surely you are interested in money. After all, my pay check is seeing the fear in everyone's eyes. Like your friend there.", Sunder said while chuckling to himself.

Tambourine felt an increasing need to leave, but Pryxo seemed to be considering the offer. Then, with a look of interest on his face, he said, "Tell you what, you can take that money and shove it while I go on about my business."

Sunder clenched his fists, which were sparking violently with electricity before he came charging with blinding speed towards Pryxo, "You seem to always be making the wrong choice!"

Pryxo pushed Tambourine away and his own fist, which was on fire collided with Sunder's making a large explosion of sound. Bang! Tambourine recovered from being pushed and started to watch the fight. Both were very fast, not like disappearing and reappearing fast, but fast to the point of leaving the marks of their movement every second on the ground. Every time Sunder would try to land a punch, Pryxo would counter with an appropriate block. That enabled him to counter with a kick. The punches and kicks always collided, making loud bangs from the fire and electricity always hitting. It was like watching two titans to Tambourine. Each fighting for one reason or another.

Pryxo backed up and surrounded him with three raging fire tornadoes while he was smirking, "Fire Storm!"

Pryxo charged at Sunder as fast as he could while the tornadoes raged around him. Tambourine was so awestruck by the power that she dared not to breathe. Sunder, though, kept moving out of the storm's path. He was still very fast, and he was not going to get singed. He missed his footing as Pryxo cornered him against a rock and was tripped over. He then leaped in to the air and shot fire darts from his hand directly at Sunder. The thunder bird didn't miss a step in this fight and blocked with a thunder clap that sent the darts away from him.

"You're getting sloppy, Pryxo. See what happens when you decide to go off and try to hide from us among such Mobians? I mean look at you. Hanging around... an...", Sunder stopped and seemed to be staring at Tambourine with a look of surprise and a kind of insane interest, "You sly bird. You found one."

Pryxo growled and got between her and Sunder. Tambourine was a little surprised by Sunder's comment and backed away a little before saying, "Pryxo... I think we should go..."

Pryxo nodded and readied to run, but Sunder brought down more lightning from the sky to block their path, "I can't believe you. You knew we were looking for these people, and you had one staying with you? I'm so glad you held on to this one. Nega has been dying to meet this one for a long time. I mean, the Child of Darkness? Really?"

"Pryxo, what's he talking about?", Tambourine asked, feeling very lost in this situation.

Pryxo just glared at Sunder with anger shown clearly, "Sunder, she doesn't know, and I'd prefer it that way until she is ready to accept it."

"Pryxo...?", Tambourine asked before she felt a shock course through her body.

Lightning had struck her, not enough to kill her, but to the point where it could knock her out. Pryxo may as well been watching it in slow motion, because everything he was seeing was just to unreal for it to be happening. Sunder did in fact summon the lightning, and it struck Tambourine to the ground, unmoving, but still breathing. Pryxo then turned back to Sunder and ran to him, flames raging through his body, "How dare you!"

"Surrender the child, and you won't die so slowly, Pryxo.", Sunder said, while launching thunder bolts at Pryxo.

Pryxo couldn't feel any of the lightning hit him, or even was effected by it. This surprised Sunder greatly before he got hit with a ball of fire the size of a football right in the chest. This sent him flying back a number of feet before igniting into flames. The sound of his screams in sheer pain was enough for Pryxo to douse his flames and run to Tambourine's side. He picked her up in bridal fashion, keeping her hood on her face, and running towards the city where we will find our hedgehogs and feline fighting.

Or not. In the city, there were flames coming from one building only, and it was the very one that Aero, Shine, and Fuego had entered before getting ambushed by the robots. Let's rewind to just after that particular scene. Aero had gotten up from his seat with his arms crossed. By this time, Dimitri had a gun pulled out from with in his cloak.

"No, hedgehog. You won't be getting up. If you make even so much as a single move, you will be destroyed on sight. You and your little friends.", Dimitri said with a rather sinister grin, "I believe that Berg will be pleased if these two are who we are looking for."

Aero only smirked and remained still, while Fuego took a deep breath and began to glow with a red aura around his body. The aura was very strange to Dimitri, so he pointed his gun to the young hedgehog and said, "Hey, no funny business. Or you'll go along with your friend here."

Fuego did a smirk similar to Aero's and said, "Go on and try. You'll find that I am not so easily ordered, neither is my sister here."

Shine nodded and her palms began to be encased in a rather interesting white light. Aero, just had his palm facing Dimitri when he said, "Last chance for you to back down."

"Are you all stupid? I have you surrounded by robots that were specially made by Doctor Robotnik to completely destroy anyone I would come near. You all can't win, so give up already.", Dimitri said, when he fully loaded his gun, making a clicking sound with it.

Aero sighed in a rather bored fashion before he uttered, "Chaos Whirlwind."

Dimitri was about to pull the trigger on Aero when he felt blown away by the burst of wind that was exerted from his palm. The energy from the wind was strong enough to begin tearing at his clothes with very little problem before he hit the wall. The robots all had a strange red light glow on them from the sight of their leader being sent flying, so they loaded their weapons and opened fire on Shine and Fuego. Fuego kept his aura up and was catching the bullets that were fired with his psychokinesis. Shine just put up a barrier of light that covered her from any stray shots that would have hit her, Fuego, or Aero.

"Now, Fuego.", Shine said, and he sent the bullets flying back at the robots.

The robots had begun to fly in all directions, some of them had taken hits to disable their weapons, but each of the strange machines had a secondary weapon on the other arm. Since there wasn't a full description before, now is a good time to say that not only were they white, they had strange reverse bending legs, a gun in one arm and another weapon, each different, on the other. One of them was able to dodge all the bullets and fire it's flame thrower on the other arm. Aero saw this and jumped into the air, punching the robot hard into the chest. His fist penetrated the armored chest plate and he created a Chaos Inferno inside of the walking scrap metal.

Shine threw orbs of light at the other robots, making some lose an arm, or possibly getting a hole in their bodies. Fuego, decided to stick to using psychokinesis as his main form of fighting as he picked up robots and sent them crashing into each other, helping clean up the robot infestation. When it was all over, the ground was littered with scrap and slag. Aero shook his head in a disappointed manner before going to Dimitri, who was cowering in a corner with his gun pointed at all three of them.

"Now, what was that about power?", Aero asked.

Dimitri gulped, the flames behind Aero making him look darker and more terrifying in his eyes, "What are you?"

Aero's eyes seemed to flash a bit of red before going back to blue when he said, "You see, I'm simply one hell of a hedgehog."

Dimitri fainted like the coward he was, and dropped the gun on the ground before Aero's feet. Aero took the gun from him and walked to Shine and Fuego, "Let's get out of here. There may be more of these creeps hiding around every corner."

Shine and Fuego both nodded and were exiting the building before a loud explosion was heard from behind them. It was one of the robots just exploding from a bad fuel tank or something. It was nothing for them to worry about. When they went out, there were storm clouds hanging over head, and a crowd of people all waiting outside of the building for them.

Aero assumed a fighting stance and was ready to start knocking people out of the way if necessary, but they all seemed to smile and cheer. Some were screaming their thanks for taking down Dimitri. The fight was loud, so it wasn't really a surprise that they all heard it. One of them, which was a fox boy with red fur came up to them and brought some food in a basket that consisted of mostly bread and some cheeses. Considering the taste of nothing but lizards, Shine and Fuego couldn't really say no. Aero chuckled a little by how quickly they had taken the gift and then started moving forwards towards the forest again.

In a distant area of the norther half of the world, there is a young two tailed fox sitting in front of a computer, looking through the activities of the southern territories while in another room was a similar computer but being observed by a walrus. The fox was getting rather sleepy because there had been little activity that would draw anyone's attention. The fox's yellow fur was a little sticky and greasy from being awake for a few days, just working on different formula's to monitor parts of the world that are controlled by Robotnik and Nega. Before he was about to doze of, a door swung open and hit the wall.

A black furred wolf with a cloak over his body, but not covering his head, barged in with his eyes trained on the fox boy, "Miles Prower, you better not have been going to sleep on the job."

"Sorry, sir. Been awake a lot and finding it difficult to stay awake.", The fox said while rubbing his eyes and looking to the screen, "Hm?"

The wolf looked over to the computer screen as well. The computer had been connected to many satellites that had been spying on all activity, and it was zooming in on a new disturbance. Miles was ready to assume it was another robot attack in progress. Instead, he was surprised to that it was a building on fire. There were also people cheering and being happy. It was uncharacteristic in this time and age.

"Miles, what am I looking at?", the wolf asked, curious, but a slight grin showing.

Miles looked from the wolf to the screen and said, "It appears to be a celebration. Probably one of our guys over there, Nocturn sir."

The wolf called Nocturn shook his head, "We have no one in that sector. We were to leave it alone because of the weak security and the fact that there was no immediate danger. Something intersting happened there. I want to know what."

"How are you so sure it's interesting?", Miles asked, sitting in the chair ready to sleep for the first time in three days.

Nocturn put a hand on is shoulder and said, "Gut feeling, kid. You'll know all about when you've been through what I have. I want a scout down there to give a report on what took place there."

"Shouldn't we notify Princess Blaze?", Miles asked.

Nocturn shook his head, "No. I don't want her to be informed unless I have confirmation on the situation."

"I'm starting to see why Princess Sally moved you to our branch of the Freedom Fighters.", Miles said.

"News flash. You were moved here too. Now, go wake up Marine and let her know that it's her turn to monitor the sectors. As long as I am your commander, you will do as I say."

Miles nodded and gave a quick salute before running out of the room to get Marine awake for her shift. Nocturn stayed and kept watching the screen as he thought of what he had to deal with to make sure he kept cool for a long time. He had watched the world fall under the control of the Eggmen as did many others, and that being said, his temper has been short as of late. Luckily, he has the greatest reason in the world to not lose his cool, it is also what haunts his sleep every night. When he closes his eyes, he can see that drooling hell hound that destroyed anything that is living in it's path. He picked up a little radio that was clipped to the belt on his cloak and activated it, "Chaotix Vector, do you read me?"

"This is Vector. What is it, Nocturn?", a voice called back.

Nocturn growled from the disrespect shown to his authority but said, "I need you to send Espio over to Sector G. Something happened, and I want to know what."

"You got it, Nocturn. Chaotix Vector out.", the voice said and the radio was off.

The wolf looked to the screen one more time before leaving the room with another grin on his face, "Maybe we finally found him."

**Author's Note**

**I apologize for not updating sooner, and I also apologize for the chapter being a tad bit short. I had intended it to be a little longer so I could introduce a few more characters, but I didn't want to make the story confusing. Seems like the Freedom Fighters have made their appearance and I am a little curious by how many branches they have and who else is leading them aside from Princess Sally, and now Princess Blaze. Who has Nocturn been looking for? What was Sunder talking about a Child of Darkness? And What are the Eggmen after? Let's hope the next chapters will shed some light on the situation.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Recovery**

The sun is setting, and a pair of shadows move quickly to the city just beyond the wastes. They had traversed across the wastes in the hope of getting to the area while what ever happened was fresh in the people's minds. One of the shadows was that of a lizard like creature. The other was of a hedgehog. Both finally arrived. With night falling, the only light that was given was from the fires in the buildings, or the ones in the streets. Temperatures were dropping, and it didn't feel right to the lizard as he shuddered, "Let's make this quick. I don't know what Nocturn wants, but it better be worth risking exposure."

"Exposure? As I recall, we came here rather stealthily.", the hedgehog said, then blinked a moment to say, "Unless you mean to tell me you can't handle the cold."

The lizard scoffed, "Keep in mind. I'm cold blooded. I am as efficient as my environment. Now, let's get the information and get out. We don't need the Eggmen to start thinking we're back."

"As you wish, Espio. But let's not do any of your ninja business here. I want to get back to Central City when I can.", the hedgehog said while looking for someone to talk to.

Espio smirked and asked, "Let me guess. Luna?"

"Shut up. Someone's got to keep an eye on her.", the hedgehog said rather quickly.

"Look, I'm just saying that there is really no need. Central City is neutral ground. Not even the Eggmen will touch it because they want something that isn't theirs.", Espio began, "Midnight, just concentrate on asking some questions."

The hedgehog sighed and nodded, still thinking about Central city. The thing about central city is that it is considered the oasis of the wastes. It is found in the middle of the wastes and is the biggest city area in all of Mobius. That being said, it is a haven for refugees in the North and South. Because it is neutral, they do not get involved with the Freedom Fighters or the Eggmen. They prefer to watch and hope for the war to end. That's why Midnight likes it there, even if he prefers the forests no matter how empty they are lately.

Espio walked over to a group of humans that were sitting by a fire in the middle of the streets. The humans saw them coming and huddled together, thinking they were with with the Eggmen. Espio was quick to negate those thoughts when he pulled out a badge that read 'Chaotix' on it. Midnight did the same, but his badge was of 'Freedom Fighters'. The humans were still not to outgoing about it, so an elder of their group asked, "Who are you two? Are you here about the hedgehogs that were here earlier?"

Espio blinked in a bit of confusion, but asked, "We are here to investigate the source of an explosion that had occurred here not too long ago. Were you able to witness?"

The elder nodded, "Two hedgehogs and a cat saved our lives. They took out that abusive Dimitri and destroyed the robots that held us here. Though, they didn't need to destroy the building. Yes, it as old, but really?"

"Could you describe these hedgehogs?", Midnight asked, getting a pencil and paper, "One of you could draw them please?"

One of the younger humans in the group took the paper on the old man's behalf. She seemed to have a steady hand when she was using the pencil. One was a sketch of the feline. The feline was in a dress, sandals, and had long flowing hair. Espio and Midnight couldn't really identify her, but they were going to give it ti Nocturn anyway. The next drawing came as a bit of a shock to Espio. It was a picture of Shadow. The shape was exactly the same, even the placement of the highlights and the strange angry look. Espio kept silent about this and the girl drew the final hedgehog. This only made Espio more suspicious because it looked exactly like Silver.

"You're sure those are who you saw?", Espio asked while taking the drawings.

The old man nodded, "Yes. Those three traveled together. Don't know why, but they just kept on moving. Where they were going is anyone's guess."

Espio took some time to look at the drawings more carefully. He definitely found something interesting. Then he looked to the building that was still smoking from the explosion earlier, and began walking to it, hoping to see something that might help prove if what he was looking for will finally be found. When Espio looked inside the building, he was a bit surprised by the damage. Mostly burn marks from fire and other things. Midnight started to get an uneasy feeling when he got in the room with Espio and said, "There's Chaos energy... it was used recently here."

"You sure, Midnight?", Espio asked while checking some piles of soot.

Midnight nodded and took a few steps out of the area, "No doubt there was Chaos Energy used here. Who ever it was, it was really strong."

Espio grinned for a moment while Midnight wasn't looking. To him, it must have been Shadow the Hedgehog. Meaning that one of them was found. The other hedgehog couldn't have left a trace. According to his memory, the other hedgehog had some kind of psychic powers. So both could have been here. Why they were with a cat was anyone's guess. Either way, he pulled out his radio and called in Nocturn, "Sir. This is Chaotix Espio. I have something to report."

"What did you find, Espio?", Nocturn asked on the other end.

Espio took a quick look around to make sure no one was listening before saying, "According to Midnight, there is some remaining Chaos Energy from a fight. We also got a sketch from one of the witnesses. They look similar to Shadow and Silver. The Chaos Energy proves Shadow was here, but we didn't find any evidence of Silver, or their feline companion."

"Feline companion?", asked the wolf, "Are they all together? Did they leave the area?"

"Afraid they have. And yes, they are traveling together. Witnesses say they came and left together. What do you make of this?"

Nocturn was chewing on a pencil in thought while he was sitting in his office. He was very happy to know that Shadow was in the area. As for the thought of Silver, it made it better. The missing Body Guard of the Princess Blaze could finally make her smile. He had gone missing quite a few years back, and no one knew where he had gone. The same went for Shadow and Sonic. No one could fathom what made them disappear, or if they were still alive. The only thing that was certain was that they went missing. He stopped chewing on the pencil and said, "I think we may have found a way to over throw the Eggmen. Return to base. If something else happens, I'll be sure to give you and the other Chaotix a call. Over and out."

Espio turned off his radio and then looked to Midnight, "We're heading back. Do you want me to escort you to Central City?"

"Nah. I'm just heading to the forests. I am not one for city people.", Midnight said before taking off to go through the wastes and head over to the forest on the other side.

Espio stood where he was and watched him go, shaking his head, "That boy is something else.", then he took off to base, unaware that a certain phoenix was watching him from an ally way that was over looking the duo in their search.

"I guess they found what they needed... must not be looking for the Children...", Pryxo said to himself before going to a sleeping Tambourine, "This is two you owe me, kid. But because of that blabber beak, Sunder, there is no need for debts."

Tambourine seemed to be stirring in her sleep. What kind of nightmares must she be having, he was wondering. What could be haunting her thoughts? Tambourine suddenly woke up with her eyes darting every which way and that. She finally let her eyes fall on Pryxo and she relaxed slightly, "Hey, did we win?"

With a small chuckle, Pryxo nodded, "Yes, young lady. We won. Now, rest a little. It's dark and we'll be moving on in the morning."

"Can't we settle here for a little bit?", Asked Tambourine with a grumbling town.

Pryxo shook his head and leaned against the wall, "Sorry. We have to keep moving. The sooner we get to Central City, the better."

"Why there?", Tambourine asked.

"Neutral ground. We'll be safe from any of the Eggmen's goons. We may even run into a friend or two.", Pryxo said while closing his eyes.

Tambourine took a moment to digest the words. She had heard of Central City from one of the elders in her tribe. Then her mother told her something about how it was a great place to be during the day because it was so peaceful, but every place has their dark sides. Her mother told her about the Extreme Gear gangs that came out at night to race or fight over territory. There was more that she was told about, but one of them was just a weird fairy tale. She didn't like the silence that was going on in the ally, so she said, "Wanna hear about the beast that comes out at night over there?"

"There's a beast? I never heard of it.", Pryxo said.

"Well, supposedly, but I think it's just something that adults tell kids there to keep from staying awake, there is this monster that comes out at night. It's fur is white and it always howl at the moon. If you are out in the lush green woods that are by the city at night, then you will be hunted until it eats you to the bone. No one has been able to catch the creature and see it, but there were survivors and stuff.", Tambourine said, "People think it's just a rogue wolf that decided to act on wild instincts, but I think it's all just lies."

Pryxo just looked at her seriously with out even showing signs of a chuckle, "You'd be surprised how much a fairy tale is true."

Tambourine blinked a few times, trying to understand what exactly was being said to her. Fairy tales are true? That sounded so childish even for someone her age. She sighed and then rolled on her side before falling straight to sleep. Her dreams were just as they were before she woke up to talk to Pryxo Filled with the nightmares of what those terrible males did to her. She could still feel them forcing themselves inside of her. Still feel them grabbing at her. Still seeing their sickening expressions. What she wouldn't give to see them again, but to see them in agony as she was killing them. She wanted their blood to stain the ground she walked on. She wanted revenge.

In another area that was far off, Aero was walking through the forests, the dead variety, and was amazed at the lack of game and unharmed nature. It was nothing like the books he had read aboard the A.R.K. It was the exact opposite. He saw nothing but green and blue in the books of the wonderful planet. Now, he saw only gray and very few bits of blue from the water which was as scarce as the green of plants and animals. From what he understood from Dimitri before he was left at the mercy of the city, the world was taken over by Eggmen. The thing that bothered him was that one of them was named Robotnik. Surely it couldn't be the Robotnik he came to know as his creator. It must be a grandchild of some sort. But if his creator did have his family continue, why was it that this world was so vile? Perhaps there was corruption in the blood line. Either way, his mission was clear. He wants to bring back the green of this world.

"Aero. Where exactly are we going?", Shine asked, getting a little sore in her feet.

Fuego was feeling the same as Shine in both curiosity, and with his feet getting sore in his boots. Aero stopped walking, then looked over to the siblings and said, "Station Square. I remember the doctor who created me telling me that he had been there and it was a good safe place to hide."

"You remember him telling you that specifically?", Fuego questioned.

"I remember him talking about it. It's a start on where to be safe.", Aero said while looking around to see that storm clouds were forming, "We need to find someplace to keep dry."

Shine nodded and then noted how her dress was a little dirty before sighing, "You don't suppose that we could find some clothing there, do you?"

Aero nodded before walking with a slightly quicker pace. The clouds were everywhere, but these clouds looked really mean. What ever rain there was going to be, it was most likely going to be a disaster type, possible tornado. All that was in Aero's head, nothing else. The damage could be to the highest degree, but all that aside, he started to skate. What was the problem? The only one who could keep up was Shine, and she didn't want to leave Fuego behind for any reason. So, she bent to let Fuego on her back, and she began to run, trying harder to keep up with Aero.

"Do you think the weather is that bad that we need to run?", Shine asked while trying to handle her brother's weight.

Aero didn't speak, he had his eye on something that wasn't too far. It looked like a trailer. Not in bad condition from what he could see. When they were with in walking distance, he slowed down to allow Sine to catch up. She was panting and looking rather tired while she was at it. When she saw the trailer, she tilted her head and asked, "In there?"

Aero nodded before breaking the door open with his fists. Closer examination showed that the door was unlocked, and already broken to begin with. Inside was relatively clean, and empty. No one had lived in this thing for years from the looks of it. It wasn't like a small trailer, for it had sleeping area, which was also the kitchen. Aero looked at all the food that was stored and most of them expired two years ago. No need to eat something that would make them sick. Shine did her own exploring and saw clothes in one of the closets. Rather nice clothes, considering. Fuego wanted to have a look, and he stepped on something that cracked under his foot. He looked down to see a picture of a happy looking family. They were having a picnic together and it showed a young cat boy and an older cat girl. With them, were the parents who seemed to be enjoying the sandwiches that were packed in the basket.

"I wonder what happened to them...", Fuego said to himself before seeing that the clothes in the closet were about his and his sister's size.

Shine felt a little strange about wearing someone else's clothes, but she remembered an old saying that her mother told her once. When in another kingdom, do as they would do. So, she sighed silently, and picked out a nice shade of blue pants. They were long pants, and were rather nice looking. Then she saw a yellow shirt that had a silver heart on it. She held them to herself and Fuego said, "They bring out your eyes and fur together. You should wear them."

Aero saw them going through the clothes and shrugged when Shine looked to him for confirmation. She smiled a little and saw a little area where it had a curtain, probably for changing, and she got in. While she was changing, Fuego saw some clothing of his own. It was hard to find anything that matched his shade of purple, but he was still trying. He found a pair of clothing that looked comfortable enough though. It was a simple white button up shirt. He even grabbed a pair of long black jeans. Looking in a near by mirror, he saw that it would look better unbuttoned, and so he started putting it on. He finished at the same time that Shine had changed. The way the clothes fit them both were perfect. Aero looked at them and released a silent chuckle.

"What's so funny?", Shine asked.

Aero composed himself and said, "That you both would get flustered over something as trivial as clothing. It looks like you were in the company of humans for a long time and started adopting their shame."

"What do you mean?", Fuego asked.

Aero took a seat in one of the pull out chairs on the walls and began speaking, "Well, on the ARK, many Mobians were either nude, fully clothed, or partly clothed. When I asked one of the scientists, he told me that at one time, all Mobians were naked because they felt close to nature, even when they were advanced in technology. When humans started to appear and colonizing the area, they brought their shame with them. Naturally, both humans and Mobians shared some of their ways."

Shine blinked and laughed slightly, "No, it's not because of shame. It just feels kind of okay to wear clothes. Where we come from, clothing was just something apart of life. Some cases, it was a symbol of social status."

"Then, if I may ask, what would your social status be with those on?", Aero asked.

Shine looked at herself in the mirror and said, "I'd say middle class, but I never liked the system of classes."

"Neither did I. I was going to remove the system when I became king though.", Fuego said a little proudly.

Good thing about children was that their naivety was so cute, one would over look the fact that for that to happen, he would have to be married, or at least gone through the series of works that made a king once their parents passed, or decided to pass the torch. More over, they class system wasn't something that would go away anytime soon. Aero knew this from the books he read on the ARK, and Shine knew this because even though she was a secret, she still needed to learn and understand. That being said, Aero and Shine didn't say a word about Fuego's ambitions.

Fuego looked to Aero and asked, "Aren't you going to wear anything?"

"No. I don't need to conceal my natural body. I never really found the need for it. If the situation calls for it, then I shall wear some clothes.", Aero said, relaxing while looking at the rain that was pounding against the window.

The added darkness from the sun going away, and the clouds blocking what most likely would have been a white moon, everyone went to sleep with the soothing rain helping. Meanwhile, on the base where Nocturn was stationed, he was looking out the window where he could overlook the waists with out being disturbed. Or so he thought. A certain yellow fox with two tails came into his room and asked, "Boss... I got to know... do you think we'll ever be able to find those three again?"

"I can't be sure, Tails...", Nocturn began while listening to the gasp that Tails made from being called his nickname, "But I am certain of this. If we search for them, we can finally have a fighting chance against those Eggmen."

"You called me Tails... what made you do that?", Tails asked.

Nocturn took a deep breath before the flash of lightning brought a quick flashback of that revolting Hell hound creature appear in his mind, "I need to have hope, or others will lose it forever. I will find Silver, Sonic, and Shadow. I promised a lot of people that."

Tails sighed a little and took a seat while pulling out a deck of playing cards, "Sir, let's play and talk, okay?"

Nocturn didn't respond, instead, he took a seat in front of Tails and put a box between them to serve as a table. Tails dealt the cards. It was Go Fish. Childish, but after working a long time with Nocturn, he has come to appreciate the simple childish impulses that come with kids his age.

Nocturn said, "Tails, I know you and Sonic went through a lot. Many adventures and all kinds of hell, but this is worse than anything else. Got any fives?"

"Go fish. I know that, sir. We went through many fights, and came out on top every time. Even when we took on the Metarex, we were a team... I wish I knew why he left us now...", Tails mumbled to himself, "Got any twos?"

Nocturn grimaced and handed over his two to Tails, "I see. You mean to tell me, that he never let his best friend know where he was going? I thought you two considered each other brothers. Got any sixes?"

"Well, Sonic is Sonic... he can't be limited in what he does. But, maybe he's just running out there in the wind, you know?", Tails said while handing over a six, "I'll admit this much... I don't think Sonic, Shadow, or Silver could ever abandon us. For all we know, they may be working together. Got a king?"

Nocturn smirked and said, "Go Fish. I guess you're right. But, if they were out there together doing something, we'd know because of the number of eyes we have out there. No activity of any of the three have been reported, until now."

This stopped Tails from drawing a card for a moment before asking, "What do you mean?"

"We have found evidence based on eye-witness accounts, and a fire in a certain sector, that helps us confirm that Shadow and Silver were sighted together.", Nocturn said.

Tails grew a smile with some tears flowing, "D-do you think Sonic..."

"There wasn't any accounts on Sonic. Only on the other two. For some reason, they were accompanied by a female cat. I don't understand what's going on, but I promise that if we can find Sonic, we will.", Nocturn said, putting down his hand.

Tails wiped his tears away, "I'll do my best to try and find him, sir. You can count on me."

Nocturn nodded, then stood up. Tails did the same before saluting and walking out of the room with his deck of cards. When Nocturn was alone, he looked out the window again and started to mutter to himself, "Birds, Children, Emeralds, Hedgehogs... all of them connected. Control those pieces and you control great power. Have them together, and a miracle will happen. This gets more and more interesting as time progresses. I got to keep everything together until we have those hedgehogs on our side... doing Sonic's job of keeping everyone together is harder than I thought."

With a flash of lightning, he knew it was time for sleep. Though, the more he dwelt into thought about those things, the more restless he got. Looked like another sleepless night for him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Capture**

The entire week was filled with rain that didn't stop until one day when Aero woke from his long nap. His sky blue eyes looked out the window and stared at the wet land, and the city that was off in the distance. Station Square. He remembered talking to the doctor about it once. That he had come from that little town and that when they finally would make their way to the Earth to show him off, they would land at Station Square and show the world a miracle. Aero never understood at the time what that meant, but he didn't really care either. He saw Shine and Fuego stirring in their beds and he sighed before saying, "Get up."

The ivory cat and purple hedgehog both woke up slowly, and stretched in their beds. Thy looked outside and smiled happily to see that the rain had ceased. Shine looked in their basket of cheese and bread before saying, "The supplies are a little... low. Are you sure that the city is over in that direction?"

"I'm sure. Cities may change in appearance, but they never change location. Now, let's go.", he said and started moving to the door.

Fuego followed with his new clothes and Shine too. They took a step outside and were a little surprised to find that it was cold. Not the kind of cold that was just a chill, but a cold that was making the water slowly turn to ice. Fuego could feel that it was really cold, and that it he needed to make a fire in his hands to keep from shivering. Shine got close to Fuego to bask in the warmth. Aero, on the other hand, was just standing there, completely indifferent to the change in temperature.

"This is unusual. It didn't look this cold outside.", Aero said while looking around, and then it began to snow.

Fuego looked around too and then took Shine back into the trailer. In a few minutes, they came out with a couple of jackets that would keep them warm for a good part of the weather. Aero looked at them and shrugged before walking on towards their primary direction. The whole time he was moving, he was wondering why it was snowing so much.

"Hey, what's it like in Station Square?", Shine asked.

Aero shook his head while saying, "That's hard to say. I only know that it is a city. Nothing more."

Shine's ears flattened slightly while the wind started blowing and the snow got heavier. What is with this weather? Then, in the distance, everyone saw a strange figure on a rock. The way the head looked suggested that it was a bird of some sort. The beak was small, but they couldn't tell until the wind suddenly stopped blowing and it was just a gentle fall of snow. The bird was an owl. He had amazing white and black feathers. He was also wearing what appeared to be some kind of winter attire, like he knew of this weather or was used to it.

"Who's that?", Fuego asked Shine.

Shine really didn't know how to respond. They got closer to the owl and Shine had to stop for a moment. Looking at the owl, she could see the eyes were surrounded by wrinkles, so he must be very old. The feathers may have been fine in color, but they were ruffled up, and such. The owl looked to Shine with a small smile and then to Fuego, "This is a bad storm for you lot to be in."

"We know, but it was raining earlier. Weird huh?", Fuego asked.

The owl nodded and said, "For me, it seems to always be snowing. Or even starts to drop hail."

Aero looked to the owl as well and felt a little agitation from being in it's presence. He asked the owl, "Who are you?"

The owl looked to the sky with what seemed like cheerful eyes. That must have been what was weird. The appearance was old, but his eyes were rather young looking and full of spirit. The owl said, "I am the bite of the snow. The claw that ensures a wise decision. I am Berg The Arctic Owl."

Aero moved in front of Shine and Fuego out of instinct and looked at the owl. He remembered the conversation from the other town and how Berg and another bird was mentioned, "Stay behind me..."

Shine and Fuego nodded and kept close. Berg seemed a little confused before taking a closer look at Shine and Fuego before letting out a small chuckle, "What great fortune. To think that I have found one of them."

"What are you talking about?", Fuego asked while keeping behind Shine.

Berg got to his feet and the snow began to intensify, "I prefer to avoid confrontations, but you must understand that I need you to come with me, children."

Aero glared at the owl, "You are not taking them anywhere with out me."

Berg rubbed the back of his head with a heavy sigh of discontent while looking at the hedgehog, "I have nothing with you. I'm just after these two. I don't want to fight, and I'd prefer if you come with me peacefully. Robotnik wouldn't be pleased if you lot were hurt."

Aero clenched his fists and sparks appeared to be flying from them when he said, "I suggest you stay away from them."

Berg just returned the glare and the snow storm seemed to have gotten worse. Hail was pelting the hedgehog while Fuego was increasing his heat to keep him and Shine warm and keep the hail from hitting them. Aero threw a Chaos Spear at Berg, only to see that Ber had taken a step to the side with little effort on his part. Berg then made an Icicle Spear in his hands and tossed it at Aero. The hedgehog pushed the kids to the side and ducked from the spear. While Berg may have been old, he still seemed to have strength, "Hedgehog, you really ought to just give me the children and continue your day."

Aero remained silent and just came rushing in for a kick. He was holding back because he was facing a much older opponent. Big mistake. Berg came rushing forward with a kick of his own while forming icicles on the bottom of his shoes to add extra pain. Aero did a back flip to avoid the kick and then jumped forward to punch Berg. He made contact and was surprised by how hard his body was. Berg looked at Aero and grinned slightly before kicking him to the snow. Aero got out of the snow, his ivory fur making great camouflage, even if he had sky blue highlights. Berg wasn't expecting this, but he scanned the snow quickly and caught some of the blue and shot icicles at the spot.

Aero evaded and started to feel a little less than impressed, "You know, I was expecting more from the General of Robotnik's troops. Perhaps your reputation was exaggerated."

Berg didn't respond to this and just laughed. Then he shot more icicles than before, slightly faster too. Aero smirked while evading them all and then came rushing, or rather skating, to Berg with his hand glowing green. Aero shouted, "Chaos Inferno!"

The flame shot forward to Berg, and there was slight panic in the eyes of the old owl when he saw the flames. The accursed flames that reminded him so much of... PRYXO! Berg became angry and the storm began to pick up. Aero saw this and then started looking for Shine and Fuego. He needed to get them out of here, and he had only one way of doing this. He couldn't find Shine or Fuego though.

"Aero!", Shine called from somewhere Aero couldn't see. With the storm, it was hard to see anything at all.

"Where are you?", Aero called back.

Shine shouted, "We're in the snow. Follow my light!"

Seconds later, there was a bright glowing light that was soothing and warm from the distance that Aero could see. Thing was, he wasn't the only one who could see it. Berg saw the light and was riding the gusts of wind to get to the light first. He was going to kill Aero, and take the children. He despised anything to do with flames, even though he knew one of the children were of the flames, he never attacked him yet. Aero was getting closer, an aura being emitted from his body. Shine could see Aero coming closer and Fuego was waving him forward. That's when they heard Aero shout, "Chaos Control!"

Suddenly, Shine, Fuego, and Aero were gone before Berg's very eyes. Berg looked at the spot that they were once at an then the storm began to calm down as he thought to himself, "_So, I found two Children... I know what they look like, and I can't underestimate that damned hedgehog. Just who is this Aero?"_

Meanwhile, Aero had them all appear somewhere farther away. It was a city most definitely. A decent one too. Aero got up with Shine and Fuego on the ground. Aero then started to shake slightly and pant while saying, or rather coughing, "Welcome... to... Station Square.", then he collapsed on the ground.

Shine gasped and went to Aero's side. Fuego was next to her and asking, "What happened?"

"I think he's sick... the teleporting must have taken a lot out of him...", Shine said to herself and she moved Aero to his side so he as not facing the ground. Aero's eyes were darting everywhere and he continued to shake rather violently.

Fuego was getting really worried, and at this point didn't care if there were bad people in the city. He shouted to the city, "Help! Someone please!"

Shine was on the verge of tears, trying to stay focused on the fact that Aero was shaking, and his eyes were moving everywhere. She focused and then sat Aero's head on her lap and started to glow. Shine stroked Aero's quills and began humming a soft melody that her mother once sang to her. It was more like a purr, but it was sufficient. Aero's shaking was going down, but his eyes were still crazy and he was still panting. It looked more like a seizure. Shine just kept her glow going until Aero was in the light too. She continued her purring song and Aero's eyes began to close, and the panting was beginning to become normal. Help never showed up, and Aero was out cold. His breathing was normal, and his shaking had subsided.

"What was wrong with him, Shine?", Fuego asked, looking at the knocked out Aero.

Shine stopped humming and her light faded slightly before she said, "Well, what ever he did back there must have taken a lot of energy out of him. Maybe he had a reaction to the Chaos Control?"

Fuego tried to think of his father and how he did Chaos Control. It was tiring if he did it a lot, but this was the first time that Aero had done in the time that he had known him. It seemed strange. They may as well ask him later. But, with Aero knocked out, and with no money to get a room at a hotel or anything, there was little more they could do than to carry Aero to an alley and lay him against the wall. Aero was asleep and did not feel the cold wall that he was sleeping on. Shine was growing increasingly worried until there came a siren sound. A white van with red blinking lights drove up to them with people in white uniforms all running towards them.

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, where there was a metallic base with robots on every post to guard this base. Inside was a rather round man with a large mustache on his face and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. Oddly enough, he was also wearing goggles on his head. The clothes that he was wearing was suggested either a scientist, or circus ring master. He was diligently working on a new robot model that would allow him better control of his territory, until a certain yellow bird walked in with bruises and singed feather.

"Anything to report, Sunder?", the round man asked.

The bird just looked down and grunted while saying, "I failed in capturing the child of shadows..."

This caught the man's attention. His back was to the bird, so he turned in his chair and was now facing Sunder with the light shining off of his sunglasses, "You encountered a child? Where?"

"In the wastes... Pryxo was with her.", Sunder explained, "He has gotten better in combat these days, Nega."

"I am aware. If only he could share such destructive power with us. He could help move the destruction of the world forward along.", the man known as Nega said.

This wasn't sitting well with Sunder. He believed that he was the strongest of all the bird. The strongest Thunder Bird in all of existence. So, thinking that there was someone who could match, or surpass his strength was enough to get his blood boiling. To make it worse, the one that could surpass him would be one of his brothers. Granted, not by blood, but by destiny, the point was all the same. He looked up at the doctor that the chose to serve and said, "That's a big if. Now that we know one of the Children are around, the others should be smooth sailing to find."

The doctor nodded while adjusting his glasses and typing on a keyboard. His grin was one of joy and sinister thinking. He stopped his typing for a moment and looked at Sunder with the grin still plastered to his face, "When you are done healing, I want you to go to Station Square."

"Why there, sir?", Sunder asked, thinking it was odd to visit a back water place like that.

The doctor had nothing more to say. That made Sunder grin in return. When the doctor didn't give an explanation for going somewhere, it usually meant to have some fun. There was always a reason behind what ever order was given, so there must be one for the visit. Sunder took a bow and then went to one of three pods that were set in another room. One was yellow, like his feathers. The others were black and unused by anyone. Sunder could only imagine how many people he was going to render to ashes, or even just shock into submission.

Since the weeks after the rain, Tambourine and Pryxo had been traveling for a long time. They had spent time traveling in the storms from before, and meditating out in the gust winds. Tambourine was finally gaining some discipline in her meditation. And her Shadow Readings, as she called them, were getting less random. When ever her shadow crossed Pryxo's, it didn't go into his mind at all. When ever she crossed with others that she had met on their journey, they were blank to her unless she willed it. The storms kind of helped, but aside from that, it was all well. Now, they were on the last leg of their journey to getting to Central City.

"Pryxo... remind me again why we didn't accept the ride to Central City?", Tambourine asked while she kept her hood up to be against the wind.

Pryxo was silent the whole time, but he figured there was need for a reason, so he said, "I didn't trust them."

"That can't be the reason.", Tambourine said.

"It is. I do not trust any of them. Or the fact that they had knives in their hands.", Pryxo said.

Tambourine had nearly forgotten the knives, but then shuddered slightly before deciding to take a peak in Pryxo's thoughts. She could feel his sense of caution and the sight of the knives added to the sense of danger. She stopped peering, and continued the walk of silence that they had. The wind had stopped blowing and not very far away, there was a large city. It was almost the jewel in the wasteland that they had traversed. The buildings looked clean and so very beautiful. Tambourine gave her first smile in a while and picked up the pace.

"Don't rush. We need to be careful, you know?", Pryxo asked.

Tambourine slowed down to let Pryxo catch up, still looking to the city up ahead. The sun was not visible here, but it was known to be day tine by the little light that was coming in through the clouds. They arrived at one of the many gates that were guarded by G.U.N officers. They were in classic camouflage uniform with a helmet and machine gun in hand. They looked to the bird and echidna and asked, "What business do you have here?"

"Well, we are travelers that are looking for someplace that is safe. After all, I intend to not get involved with the likes of the Eggmen.", Pryxo said while keeping his hood down.

The officers looked at one another and said, "You may enter, but what ever troubles you bring will get you kicked out. Understand?"

The duo gave a nod and began heading inside. The moment that Tambourine did, she felt a little uneasy. Something felt a little strange was here, but she couldn't identify it. It was moving, and alive, but that was about it. She couldn't tell if it was a threat or a possible friend. Then, she lost that feeling when she accidentally bumped into someone and fell over.

"Excuse me, are you okay?", a voice said.

Tambourine took off her hood and looked up at a young frill necked lizard that was wearing a white strait jacket, black long pants, a pair of skates, and an eye patch over his right eye. Despite the appearance, he seemed rather nice. His eye suggested that he was gentle. He repeated himself, "Hey, are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.", Tambourine said while getting herself up. She took a long look at the boy and saw that the sleeves were not connected and that he was just skating with them nearly touching the ground.

"Are you traveling with Pryxo?", the lizard asked with his tail moving around a little.

Tambourine nodded and then pointed to the scarlet bird who said, "Hey, Akira. How has the city been?"

"Been fine. And so have we.", the lizard named Akira said.

Pryxo smiled shook his hand, "How are the others? Did they behave while I was gone?"

Akira nodded rather childishly and said, "Naturally. But we lost contact with Jasper."

Pryxo looked a little worried and asked, "When was his last call?"

"It was a couple of weeks ago. He said that he had business with Queen Blaze and that was it. We're really worried about him...", Akira said while his frill was drooping more than it was already.

Pryxo started pacing, then looking around before saying, "We can talk about it another time. We need to go to the usual spot and find a home for Tambourine. After all, we are doing big project, right?"

Akira saluted and said, "Right! Come on, Miss Tambourine.", he then started skating away.

Tambourine had a sweat drop before following Akira by running. Pryxo watched them go before looking out to the horizon to see dark clouds and a blanket of white showing up. He glared hard at that direction while thinking to himself, "_Shadows, Earth, Wind, and the Binder... so much to do, and we're running out of time..."_

The blizzard was not moving any closer, and the source of the blizzard was looking to Central City, calculating and having a sorrowful look on his aged face. Berg stared at the city, feeling the weight of the possible casualties he would cause if he were to go and pursue Pryxo. He hated him, but he was his brother all the same. He sought peace, and thought his way was the only way to do it. Pryxo was against him every step of the way, and he knew what he had to do.

On base, where Tails was looking around to find Blaze and ask her a few question, things had been quiet. Aside from the news of the moving Generals now causing problems in both the north and south, things had been quiet. Tails had been tinkering with machinery, fixing his Tornado, and even modified the weapons that some of the soldiers were using. Tails was looking everywhere for Blaze because he missed talking to someone that wasn't all about military. He also wanted a casual talk about what might be going on.

"Tails, hello. How have you been?", a familiar voice said from behind the kitsune. With a turn, he saw a violet feline wearing a simple jacket of the same color, high heels, and a ruby jewel on her forehead.

"Blaze! It's great to see you.", Tails said while remembering not to go in for a hug. He wasn't one to hug, but he had been in need of one ever since Sonic had gone missing.

Blaze acknowledged with a simple nod and asked, "Tell me, how have things been? I haven't heard from you or Nocturn in a while."

Tails fiddled with his fingers slightly. He wanted to keep to his orders about keeping things under the table, but it was getting hard when Blaze was actually right there. He cleared his throat and said, "Well... you see... nothing has been going on and..."

"Tails, if you want to tell me something, you can. I mean, I'm not going to burn you. Believe me, my temper has decreased from when we first met.", Blaze said while giving her faint smile.

Tails found it harder to keep quiet. Sonic had told him, when he was growing up, that it wasn't really the smartest or coolest idea to lie to a friend. He had known Blaze for a while and it was really bad to actually go around the truth. He even started to sweat slightly, "Okay... just don't tell Nocturn. Well, we found out that there were a pair of hedgehogs that helped out a small city."

"Okay, who were they? Were they from Sally's branch?", Blaze asked.

Tails shook his head, "We sent Espio and Midnight, the hedgehog in our branch, to investigate the city. Witnesses in the area described three Mobians. Two were hedgehogs and the other was a cat. The Hedgehogs were male and the cat was female. From a sketch, it was thought to be Silver and Shadow..."

Blaze blinked a few times when she heard Silver's name. She hadn't seen him in such a long time. Not since her world fell. She looked at Tails, trying her best to keep her composure, "The sketches proved it was them? Do you know where they were going?"

"All no. We only know that the appearance suggests Silver and Shadow. It may not be them at all. I personally hope that it is them. Maybe they can lead us to Sonic.", Tails said, smiling slightly.

Blaze nodded, but was still focusing on the thought of Silver. She wanted to tell him so much about what had happened to them, what surprise she had for him, and that she would be just happy to see him. The thought quickly turned into excitement as she said, "Tails, I know that Nocturn said to keep things quiet, but you need to keep me posted."

"This is just not cool. I'm being pressured by both you and Nocturn...", Tails said while his tails seemed to droop.

Blaze put a hand gently on his shoulder and said, "Tails, I need to know. Shadow is strong and Sonic is fast, but Silver is naïve and may need help. If he is with Shadow, he may be fine, but I want to personally make sure he is okay."

Tails laughed silently, "You sound like a concerned mother."

"Someone had to make sure he survived when we were back at my world...", Blaze said quietly.

Tails nodded and his ears drooped with his tails when he said, "I'm sorry about what happened to your world... I promise that when we find them, we will make him pay."

Blaze smiled again and nodded, "Thanks, Tails. Nega will pay for what he did... my people are now but a small few, but they still trust me. As their queen, I promised them justice for the loss of so many others.", she summoned a flame from her hand to signify she meant business.

Tails said, "For now, your people need you here. Sally was nice enough to let them take residence her, but they are still in danger. We are doing our best to keep them safe, and you have done a good job of keeping them safe too. You are a valuable ally, Blaze."

"I could say the same for you. I'll have to thank Sonic for making friends with someone as smart as you.", Blaze said and then quickly walked off.

Back in Station Square, Aero was sleeping a little more peacefully. Shine had been giving off her light to aid in his healing and to halt the shaking and seizures. It had worked. Fuego had been walking around and found an abandoned little home in the city. It was not powered by electricity, so they needed Fuego's fire to keep them warm through the night. The siblings had been trying to entertain themselves while Aero was resting in the bed they found. Mostly just looking at each other and pointing out similarities between them and their parents. Fuego hated that he looked so much like his father. Everything down to the last quill was exactly like his father. But he could not take it because the memory of him being a hero where they were from was too much for him. When he looked in the mirror, he saw the hero he could never be. He was tempted to start messing with his quills so he could look a little different than normal. Shine was asleep when Fuego found some scissors, hair jell, and the mirror.

He shortened the back quills, making them come up a little, then he shortened two quills in the front so he could meld them with the center. The ones just above the eyes was bent down with hair jell. Then came the hard part. He had to cut the hair that was his mane around his neck and chest. Making sure to make it a close shave, he could see the birthmark that looked like flames on his chest and aroundd his neck. When he looked in the mirror, he could only see a little bit of his father in himself. With a small smile he returned to Shine's side and said, "Hey, sis. Look at what I did."

Shine fluttered her eyes open and blinked a few times when she saw the new look and asked, "Why did you do that?"

Fuego fiddled with his fingers slightly and said, "I just... it's hard to look in the mirror and be reminded of what we left behind..."

Shine looked down before taking Fuego and holding him close to her. She gently rubbed his quills like mother used to do for us and whispered, "I miss them too..."

They just held each other in silence, with only their sibling bond keeping them secure in this chaotic world. There was the sound of groaning from Aero's bed. They didn't dare to move, but they listened to what he was saying.

"R-run...", Aero said, his eyes were weakly opening and he was forcing himself out of the bed.

Shine and Fuego didn't understand, but the air was thick with tension. The fur on their bodies were sticking up. Unusual, considering they were more curious than afraid. Fuego then felt something else other than tension. He looked to the door and could feel something on the other side. Something that he didn't like. Shine could feel it too. It was overwhelming and that was when they heard the banging against the door. There was crackling sounds from the other side and it was getting worse. Aero was about to be on his feet before the door flew open and they were all stunned. Electricity had coursed through them and it made them unable to move. A certain yellow feathered thunder bird had walked in, saying, "Found ya."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Explain**

Tambourine finally caught up with Akira. For a frill necked lizard on skates, he was fast. She still didn't understand why he had to wear a strait jacket, but it was not a time or a place to ask about it. They were sharing a room, and by they I mean Tambourine, Akira, and a green hedgehog who's quills went to the small of her back. She wore a strange suit that looked similar to the Turk suits that were worn in Final Fantasy 7. The hedgehog girl was a little older than Tambourine, but had a childish charm to her face. When Tambourine entered the room with Akira, Akira said, "Hey, Ventuss, meet our new friend. Her name is Tambourine. She's one of us."

"I can see that. Hehe, hello. As he said, my name is Ventuss. I'm the Child of the Wind.", the green hedgehog said while extending a hand.

She acted so formal, but it seemed slightly forced, "Hello. I'm Tambourine. I'm a child too, I guess."

"She doesn't know, Ven. We got to explain it to her like I did for you.", Akira said, taking a seat in the dining room.

Ventuss took a seat as well, leading Tambourine with her, "Alright, we'll start from the beginning, but first, tell us about yourself."

"Well... Um... could I tell you after you introduce yourselves and talk as well?", Tambourine asked. She wasn't comfortable with this at all.

"That seems fair. Can I go first, Ven?", Akira asked while waving a sleeve covered arm in the air.

Ventuss giggled a little and nodded, "Of course."

Akira smiled greatly and then began, "Alright. You see, we're a group of young people who are called the Children of the Elements. We are kind of the world's connection to nature and Chaos."

Tambourine knew of Chaos. The god that was worshiped by many echidnas and anyone else that followed him. He was known for destruction, but the legend of his children was meant to be of the seven Chaos Emerald... right? Akira continued, "There are seven of us, like the Emeralds, and we each control an element. I am the Child of Earth. Other people can't tell who we are unless they sense our aura, which fellow children see. Now, You kind of understand?"

Tambourine nodded, but it was a little hard to take in. If they were a connection to Chaos and such, what did that have to do with her? What's her job? Would she get involved in a fight for power on this world? What was going on! She practically wanted to shout these questions because she really didn't want anything to do with this mess. She looked at Akira with some sadness and asked, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, we can see that you are one of us. Your aura suggests that you are the Child of Shadows.", Ventuss said, "And that means we are only missing three others. Water, Fire, and Light."

"There is six of us?", Tambourine asked.

"No. There is a seventh. He is just working for Queen Blaze. He's a knight, can you believe it? He is a Child that Awakens. In legend, known as the Binder.", Akira explained.

This might as well been a foreign thing to Tambourine because it was just confusing. Auras, elements, children, and now awakening? Tambourine held her hands up, "Slow down a little. I'm trying to think. So, we are children of elements that serve Chaos? And this guy who is a night has no element?"

"Well, no. But he is important. You see, it is with his power that we can awaken the hidden potential in us to use our powers to the full. We can use our powers to an extent, but after we awaken in the light, we can become strong. How ever... there is dark awakening...", Akira said while touching his eye patch.

Now it was getting depressing for Tambourine. Dark awakening? What in the name of Chaos was that? Ventuss put her hand on Akira's and looked at Tambourine, "Look... Dark awakening is the same as regular awakening, but it causes us to go mad... very mad... Akira was a special cae because he suffers from a syndrome that splits his good and bad personality by this eye patch. If the eye he has showing us right now is showing, he is good. But if the other is showing while the good is covered, then he becomes dark... that's his dark awakened half..."

"Ummm... how did that happen?", Tambourine asked, getting that ominous feeling again like when she bumped into Akira.

"I let my emotions get the better of me. You see, when you feel a lot of negativity, dark awakening happens and our potential unlocks itself... I did it and... I lost it...", Akira said and took in a deep breath, "She needs to see it... tie me up, Ven..."

Ventuss nodded and went to Akira, strapping the sleeves behind him. They were tight, she removed straps with hooks on them from his legs as well. When she was done, Akira closed his eye and Ventuss swapped the eye patch. Tambourine's heart sank as she saw Akira open his eye. The eye was not as gentle as the other. It was wild and looked like a snake's slit eye. A canyon of darkness and hate. She could feel it from his shadow and she wished he didn't show her this.

"Well, this is our new sister, hm? Interesting.", Akira said in a dark and sinister voice, "Can't say you are much to look at, but your aura suggests that you are strong. Pryxo must have been training you on the way here. Either way, just pray that you never see me in a fight."

"W-why?", Tambourine stuttered, gulping after asking. She wished that she didn't.

A grin of sharp teeth showed on Akira's face, "Because I'm Ankira, and unlike my good half, I will tear everything to pieces. That is the way of my dark earth. I will tear the enemy, and you to pieces and bathe in your blood."

Tambourine couldn't move or look away from this monstrous version of Akira. The dark Akira, Ankira, laughed crazily and kept his grin before Ventuss swapped the patch. The insanity was gone and replaced with a teary eyed Akira, "I'm sorry for what he said... but you needed to see why you must not dark awakened... I have to live with that in my head for ever..."

"Does that happen to all children who dark awaken?", Tambourine asked, a small tear running down her cheek.

Ventuss shook her head, "No. You would just lose it and be like that until we knock you out or pull you back to normal. Akira has two personalities, so he has to listen to that dark side scream at him in his head."

"It's a hell that can't be escaped from. In my dreams, he kills. And everyday, I hope to never use him in a fight. I'm okay at fighting, but Ankira is better.", Akira stated, "But I don't ever use him in training."

"Can't this binder come and help?", Tambourine asked.

"Jasper? Well... yeah, but he is always busy guarding the Queen. He calls once in a while and we talk. We intend to visit him one day and have him help us, but first we have to train for when there is a threat.", Ventuss explained, "When we are awakened, we can help fix this Mobius, and set things right. Or, that's what Pryxo said."

So Pryxo has something to do with this, Tambourine thought to herself. She began to wonder what else was going on, but then she shook it off. She was very tired from the days she spent meditating and traveling. Ventuss saw this and helped her into one of the beds. There were seven beds in the bedroom. While Tambourine wasn't used to being in a city hotel, even she knew that it looked strange to have so many beds in one spot. Ventuss tucked Tambourine into her bed and then before her head even hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

Ventuss smiled and shook her head, "Pryxo, you worked her to the bone. You don't change... do you?"

Akira was in the chair asking, "Hey, could you undo my sleeves? I'm not gunna switch."

Ventuss had a minor sweat drop before going over to Akira to assist.

Meanwhile, just outside the city, the blizzard kept raging on. The snow hit the ground in with such force that it was almost hail. The bird in the storm only looked at Central City with sorry yet longing look. He felt a slight temperature change in his area and he knew who it was. Berg calmed down slightly and let the storm subside, "Good to see you again, Pryxo."

"Hello, brother. Good to see you too, though I wish it weren't under these circumstances.", Pryxo said, sitting on a rock with a flame in his hands. Even though he was a fire bird, extreme cold still got to him.

Berg formed a chunk of ice and sat on it, " We haven't spoken in such a long time."

"Rephrase that, brother. We've spoken, but fighting never counted for you, did it?", Pryxo said, making the flame smaller.

Berg sighed, knowing that part was true. He pulled up his left sleeve and showed a scare that took his entire arm to the wrist, "I guess there are some fights I can't ever forget..."

"You still have that? One would think you would just revive and come back new.", Pryxo muttered.

"I want to remember. This scar... this burn... this pain is what drives me to work for peace.", Berg said, putting his sleeve back in order.

"Peace? Is that what you call this? You are working for one of the most craziest doctors on the planet. Yes, Nega is worse as you pointed out to me before this started, but that doesn't mean you got to side with the lesser of two evils.", Pryxo began, "If his side were to conquer the world, he would enslave us all."

"If he wins, I can easily turn against him and then the world will have no threats.", Berg said, "Sonic, Shadow, Silver, who needs them."

"So that's what this is about? Glory?", Pryxo asked, he flame gone, but his heat still increasing, "I told you before, Berg. We are to protect this world, but we are not to be it's heroes. Every world has their heroes. We are just guardians."

"I can't stand it anymore. I am tired of being the wise one that is looked up to for guidance. I can't stand sitting on the side lines while every century or so, a hero is recognized for doing small tasks while you, Sunder and I get nothing for our work.", Berg said with a tinge of anger, "This world needs to recognize it's true heroes."

"And you think that will happen when we all remember you for taking sides with a threat. You aren't a hero for cleaning up a mess you made! And what's worse is you got Sunder into it!", Pryxo shouted, "He is power hungry, and you know that. You knew he'd go nuts. Now he wants this place to be ashes and corpses."

Berg shook his head, "You don't get it. When you grow tired and bored of these trivial matters, you'll understand where I'm coning from in all this."

"I don't ever want to. I have been here for as long as you and Sunder. I have had no problems. Yes, I hate the wars that are fought. I hate not taking sides sometimes. But Chaos chooses it's heroes, and we aren't them!", Pryxo said, standing on his rock.

"I knew you would get difficult. Oh well. I guess you really won't join me then. I'll just have to settle for making you get out of my way and you joining Sonic and Shadow in Eggman's trophy pods.", Berg said before tossing an icicle spear at Pryxo.

Pryxo didn't miss a beat and just increased his outer heat, making the spear shrink into nothing more than a little ice cube, "You really ought to know by now that I will not be taken down."

Berg growled, "I greatly... despise... fire!", he then started up the blizzard again, but the hail was hitting in greater intensity.

Pryxo was hit by the hail, but he kept his flames on so as to reduce the pain of getting his by the chunks of ice. Berg had disappeared and started to reappear to toss a couple of punches and kicks before disappearing in the storm again. Pryxo had forgotten that even though Berg's body was old, he was still strong. The fire bird felt a kick to his face and was knocked down, "You're faster. That's good."

"You really think that I wasn't going to learn a thing or two from our last encounter?", Berg asked before disappearing in the blizzard again.

"I was counting on you learning a new trick or two. Instead, you got faster.", Pryxo said before ducking from another kick and grabbing the leg, "Now, take this!", he then tossed Berg in the air and tossed a fire orb at him. Berg as hit with the full force of the fire on his back and he yelled in pain.

Berg was thankful that it was cold enough for him not have scaring on his back. When he landed on his feet the storm subsided quickly. The two birds looked at each other with anger and confusion. One wanted to remain neutral and keep the world in order. The other wanted peace and to be recognized. Both were strong and ready to fight. Berg assumed a fighting stance with an icicle sword in his hands while Pryxo assumed a fighting stance with his hands in front of him at the center of his body and his feet separated slightly for balance.

"Wing Chun?", Berg asked.

Pryxo nodded with out smiling, "I learned this a while back. Berg wanted boxing and working with a javelin, you wanted that sword and karate. I chose to take up Wing Chun."

Berg rolled his eyes and came close to Pryxo to jab his sword into him, only to get the sword redirected to the side and missing completely while Pryxo gave a series of quick punches to Berg's chest. Berg had forgotten how fast Wing Chun had to be, and the fact that Pryxo was the few to be considered a master of it only added to the problem. He charged to Pryxo with the side of his blade in the hopes of tripping him and sending him to the ground. Instead, Pryxo side stepped and pinned Berg's arm to the side long enough to get a few quick jabs into the side of Berg's face. This sent him staggering slightly, and Berg made his sword go forward to stab again, only to have the process repeated.

"You can't hope to win, Berg. When it gets to it, fire beats ice every time. No ifs ands or whats about it.", Pryxo said before making his body light on fire.

Berg jumped back, rubbing his face and watching his sword melt slightly, "I will beat you. I will make this world peaceful, even if it means getting rid of you permanently."

Pryxo let the flames go more until the flames on concentrated around his wrists, ankles, torso, and part of his head. It looked like a flame armor. When he looked at the now trembling Berg, he said, "This is precisely one form below Rising Sun mode. If you don't leave, I will unleash my full flame on you. Now go!"

Berg remembered the Rising Sun mode. It was what gave him the scar on his arm. Pryxo let his body into a full flame back then and his feathers became a multitude of colors for the different types of flames. They were hotter than normal and could be compared to the sun in such a close area. Berg hated Pryxo's form and would have done anything to use his own power, but he could only do so much in his current body. Berg turned and disappeared in a gust of the now reforming blizzard.

Pryxo watched the blizzard leave as his own flame died down. He was not angry as he was saddened that his own brother would be so ambitious, "Brother... I see your wisdom of wanting peace... but why so ambitious? Why do you want to change the order of things?"

The question just hung in the air, not getting any answer with in the near future. Not even in the far future. With his sad look on his face, he turned to Central City with a heavy sigh and walked towards his allies. He needed them now more than ever.

With in Blaze's castle, a certain two tailed fox came walking into the thrown room. He took a deep breath, thankful for the time off he was given by Nocturn to have a word with the Queen. More information was received in Station Square. According to Midnight, there was a Chaos energy source that was in the area. There were even reports of two hedgehogs, one of them injured, and a feline. Tails wanted to give the news to Blaze quickly. Though, the fact that Noctun had taken his bike and went to Station Square himself was a little unsettling. He said he wanted to investigate, but Tails wasn't sure. Either way, he walked to Blaze's thrown and said, "Good afternoon. I have some news."

"What is it, Tails?", Blaze asked, looking rather sleepy. She clearly didn't have a good night sleep.

Tails cleared his throat as he said, "There was another sighting. Midnight saw detected various Chaos Energy sources there, and eye witnesses say there were hedgehogs and a feline just like in the last area."

Blaze looked like she was given some coffee to wake herself up when she asked, "Are they still in that area?"

"No... those same witnesses had a close call with Sunder. Turns out, he went after those hedgehogs. Other witnesses said they found him carrying the trio to Nega's base.", Tails said with his ears drooping.

This got Blaze concerned, "Would it be possible for us to infiltrate the base and free them? Or to even find..."

"I don't know, Blaze. I think we can do it, but it all depends on if our men are strong enough. Nega, as you know, is more efficient than Eggman in a lot of ways. So he is more dangerous. Sonic wouldn't risk lives, and neither would I.", Tails said while shaking slightly.

Blaze thought this over and smiled to herself, "Alright, then Tails, when we can, you and I will save them."

Tails blinked several times. He loved an adventure, especially with Sonic, but he worried about what would happen if he were to oppose Nega. Ever since he shot Tails out of the sky with his air fleet, he has been afraid to test the Tornado. Now, Blaze is offering to save the trio, but could they do it? He looked to the queen and said, "Blaze, I know we can do it... but we need more help. I can call on Knuckles and see if he can take time away from the Chaotix to assist. But that is about it. Plus, I'll need time to make gadgets."

Blaze nodded, "I'll give you as many resources as you need, Tails. I just want to save them... and maybe find Silver..."

Tails understood and looked to the door out of the thrown room before taking a quick bow, "I'll get started. Bye."

Blaze waved to Tails as he ran off. She then quickly got up and looked behind the thrown to see a hiding little female hedgehog. Her fur was grayish and she wore a blue dress with boots of the same color. The golden eyes were what made it all stunning. Blaze picked up the little hedgehog and asked, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

The hedgehog girl nodded as she said, "Mother... will you be okay when you go with uncle Tails?"

"Yes, Venice. I will. I promise that we will find daddy and you will meet him.", Blaze said, rubbing her nose on the little hedgehog's nose. This made Venice giggle and she hugged her mother.

Blaze kept holding on to her daughter and thought of Silver before he had disappeared, "Silver... when I bring you back, you and I are going to have a long conversation."

"Can I lecture him too, mommy?", Venice asked with a small smile.

Blaze giggled silently, "Of course you can, Venice."

The two of them laughed happily together before they walked themselves to their room, where they had a window to look over the base from the castle. Venice always looked out the window to see if her father would ever come. Her mother had told her stories of her father and how he was a hero in their world before she was born on Mobius. She pictured her father as a great hero, and that was what she wanted to see. She wanted to see her father just like in the pictures that her mother showed her. A hero that would fight to ensure a bright future.

"Mommy, will daddy be with the other heroes?", Venice asked as she also remembered Shadow and Sonic from the stories.

"I hope so, sweetie. We need them... and who ever Nocturn is looking for...", Blaze said while keeping Venice close to her.

Venice began to shake, "Mommy... I had a bad dream that Mr. Nocturn got into a fight with someone... should I be scared?"

Blaze found that piece of news a little disturbing. She couldn't really say much for Nocturn, but the most she could tell Venice was this, "Honey, we can only pray that Chaos will protect them."

"I'll pray tonight.", Venice said before looking out the window a little more and thinking about her father again.

Somewhere else, Aero was waking from a harsh and forced sleep. His eyes didn't take long to adjust to the low lighting, but there was one source of light just in front of him. It was that bird that shot lightning at them in Station Square. Aero growled weakly, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's Sunder the Thunderbird. And you need to show a little respect!", he said before punching Aero in the gut.

Aero coughed violently and growled still, "Where's Shine and Fuego?"

"The two you were with? You need not worry of them. Nega will take care of them.", "Sunder said while pacing around the cell that Aero was in.

Aero wanted to swing at him, but he saw that there was a strange red beam that formed around his wrists from the walls. The energy from them seemed to hold Aero back. If he had his mobility, he would have sent a good Chaos Spear into the bird's face and see if he got back up. Instead, he just kept growling, "Where are they? Leave them alone."

"I can't do that. You see, we have been looking for them for a while. Who'd have thought that they were Children of the Elements? But you are certainly special.", Sunder began, "Within you, I sense different auras. Tell me, were you created or born?"

Aero glared at Sunder, "That's none of your business, bird!"

"That hurt. It really did. Now, I'll take that as created. Why? Because there is no way that you have the power of wind, fire, and darkness all at once. Simply no way.", Sunder said while pointing his javelin to the hedgehog's head, "What and who are you?"

"It's Aero. Aero the Hedgehog.", Aero said while looking directly into Sunder's eyes.

Sunder looked back and grinned, "Hmmm... Nega will figure something out about you based on that. And why you look like Shadow."

Sunder then snapped his fingers and the walls to the room rose into the air, revealing a quickly typing Eggman-Nega on a super computer. Aero looked around and found that Shine and Fuego were on the wall with similar cuffs around their wrists and were knocked out cold. Aero sighed a quiet breath of relief to see that they were still alive though.

"You got it, right, Nega?", Sunder asked.

Nega kept typing and grunted in frustration, "There isn't a file on Aero the Hedgehog. Not in the G.U.N. data bases or in any other. When I type that in, Shadow the Hedgehog shows up and the Bio Lizard. Finally, there is just a picture of Maria Robotnik."

Sunder tilted his head and just started pacing around the room. Aero just chuckled from their frustration. But Nega kept looking at the files, reading them quickly. Shadow's file was nothing, and the Bio Lizard showed absolutely nothing and provoked questions. Then, Nega looked at the picture of Maria Robotnik. Why would the cousin of Robotnik show up in the search result on the database. Nega kept staring at it and moving his mouse over it until the mouse changed from an arrow to a finger. It was a little weird because is only happened over Maria's left eye. Nega got curious and started taking the picture and dropping it into his zip file extraction program. With in seconds, an entire file came up.

"Shadow two?", Nega asked himself before looking further. After taking a few minutes to read, he laughed hard at himself.

"What is it, Nega?", Sunder asked.

Nega turned in his seat to face Aero, "So, Shadow two? Bio Lizard was the prototype and you were version two of the prototype. When they experimented on you, they created a near perfect ultimate life form. You immune to most diseases that were lethal. To ad on top of it, they used the DNA of different Children of the Elements because the Black Arms weren't there at the time."

Aero looked Nega with a confused look on his face. He knew not of anything called the Black Arms. Before he could say anything, Nega continued, "You are the prototype to the World's Ultimate Life form. You named yourself Aero after you were created, and what's worse is that it is your fault that G.U.N came in to the station."

"What are you talking about?", Aero asked.

"You, when you killed those scientists, G.U.N came in a few years later to investigate, and the incident was blamed on the true Ultimate Life Form. Shadow.", Nega said with a small chuckle.

Aero looked down on the ground, not because of the guilt of causing the deaths, but because there was a continued project after him. Shadow. So this Final Product is somewhere on the planet, and they think it's his fault that things got out of hand. The past is the past, and all he can do is try to get out of this mess, "Well, this is nice and all, but I'll take the kids with me and go."

"Oh, I think not. You see, I need them. You don't want to see these kids hurt, do you?", Nega asked when he snapped his fingers.

Sunder pointed his javelin at Shine's throat while it was sparking with electricity. Aero's eyes widened slightly and he glared at Nega. With great hesitation, he asked, "What do you want?"

"To make an offer of which you will never refuse.", Nega said while chuckling.

**Author's Note**

**I apologize for the late update. School got in the way and I am looking for a job to occupy my time when I am not writing. Strange for someone as young as I am to be looking for a job, but I can't be relying on parent forever. Now if only other people back home could stop doing that. I digress. I'm back and am hoping to keep on writing. Things seem to get pretty interesting, but there is a lot of scenes to cover. Don't worry. Things will be separated soon. Just consider these chapters the Eggmen saga. Trust me, if you think this will all end when these guys fall, you are sadly mistaken. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Changes**

Within a city, it was rather quiet. There was no real problems, but no real relief either. The city was small and the name wouldn't matter in a moment. A sound of thunder could be heard far off into the distance. A small monkey girl looked out to the storm that was coming and saw two figures in the distance. She payed no mind and did what most girls her age did. She played with her dolls and pretended she was the head of her little imaginary house. The hair on the back of her neck began to stick up and she looked out to the distance again. The two figures were closer now and she felt a little scared. She ran straight to her mother in the city to say she was scared. Not a few minutes later did the two figures come into visible range. It was Sunder and Aero.

"Hello, people. Remember me?", Sunder asked with a vicious grin.

They all remembered him well. The last time he was in the city, they felt his shocks and watched him destroy a good portion of the city. He was searching for one of children to see if they were what the Doctor wanted. He could feel something, but never find it. The city was relieved before and were not worried because there was nothing there he could find anyway. The hedgehog that accompanied him was looking at the citizens rather closely. His eyes shifted from one to another and another. They all seemed nervous, but the head of the city stepped forward, it was a human, and asked, "What is it that Nega asked of you?"

"To re-investigate the cities I have searched in the past with the aid of my new partner. This is Aero the Hedgehog.", Sunder said with a combination of spite and disgust.

Aero nodded and kept looking, then sighed, "One was here. The Child left a while ago."

The head asked, "What is he saying?"

"I'm saying that when he was last here, you lied to him. You said you didn't have one of the Children of the Elements here. But there was one. She left her aura all over the place.", Aero said with little to no emotion at all. He seemed to be trying his best to seem detached.

Sunder grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and yelled, "You tricked me, huh? A powerful superior?"

The man was trembling, "P-please... we didn't know. Honest!"

"We cannot confirm or deny that it was a lie, but we can still track the child. Now, let's go, Sunder.", Aero said, trying to get him away from the man.

Sunder grinned and sent a large amount of electricity through his body. The man's eye's nearly popped out before he was dropped to the ground to die from his heart attack. Aero looked and tried not to show his anger from watching, "Why did you do that, Sunder?"

"Simple. They need to know the price for lying to me. So, I shall exercise my powers on this city.", Sunder said while holding up his javelin. He saw a camera girl and newsman and grabbed them, "You two can record this and save the show it to all of Mobius. Let the world know what happens to those who get in my way."

Aero grunted before shaking his head, "This was not our orders."

"I am aware, but as Nega's General, I can exercise some fun. Now, for my authority over you. Help me lay waste to this city, or... well, you know what will happen.", Sunder said while pointing his to a radio on his belt with his javelin.

Aero clenched his fists and some sparks came from the fists he formed. If there was one thing he hated more than anything, it was being used. He took a few deep breaths and said, "Will there be people hurt?"

"Naturally.", Sunder said while tossing lighting down at the city in several spots. He did his best to avoid the camera crew.

Aero looked at the camera, which was now on him. He shook his head before pulling out a Chaos Emerald that Nega gave him before sending him to the city. He then shouted, "Chaos Inferno!"

With in minutes, the city was covered in a burst of green fire. The smoke and flames filled the sky, making the lightning come down more. The crew watched and recorded while the newsman was talking in a frantic manner. This was going to be hitting the news and definitely going to have a large impact.

It wasn't a few hours later that it was on the television set of every residents in Mobius. The Freedom Fighters, the Eggmen, and the Children that were hiding in Central City were watching with shock. But none as bad as Ventuss. She started crying when they said it was the remains of Westopolis. Akira went to Ventuss with a towel and put it over her shoulder. Tambourine was confused by this, but then saw Pryxo take her into the kitchen, "We're going to get her some hot chocolate. Akira, keep an eye on that news broadcast."

Tambourine was alone in the kitchen with Pryxo while he was preparing the hot chocolate. She was still confused, but before she could ask the question, Pryxo said, "That city was Ventuss' home. They hid her because they knew about her gift. Sunder can feel aura's, but he couldn't feel her's. She owes them a lot for saving her so long ago. When I found her and told them that I would take her to others like her, they were grateful."

"So, it was her home... and that was Sunder again...", Tambourine muttered, "But, who was that with him? He wasn't there before."

"That's a good question... Sunder doesn't work well with others, so he must be someone that Nega recruited.", Pryxo said as he got the milk in a pot and poured the chocolate powder in with it.

"Pryxo, are things getting worse?", Tambourine asked while getting a spoon for Pryxo to mix with.

The phoenix didn't answer when he took the spoon and started stirring the now steaming milk. Tambourine kept quiet and looked around the kitchen in the hopes of finding some sugar. Tambourine knows the taste of chocolate and knows that it is bitter. She found some sugar in a bag and brought it to Pryxo. The phoenix took it then nodded, "Things are worse... way worse. My brothers are very competitive. So when Berg sees that, we will be in for war."

Tambourine rubbed her arm while thinking back to the flames on the video. That's when she heard the T.V from the kitchen. Pryxo heard it too and quickly took the pot off the stove and ran in with Tambourine close to him. The T.V showed Sunder pushing the newsman out of the way and grabbing the camera, "You can't hide them for long, Pryxo. I will find you. And when I do, the hedgehog and I will make sure you never get in our way again and the children will be ours.", the thunder bird shocked the camera and it was the end of the broadcast.

Ventuss sniffled and then looked to Pryxo, "It's all gone... my home... those people... where were the Freedom Fighters? Huh!"

"They can only do so much, Ven. That's why I'm gathering you up. It was lucky that I could find you guys close by. The last one may be on some other land mass. If I can't find anyone else in this area, I'll move onto another land mass. Luna will take good care of you though." Pryxo said. And when he finished, a knock on the door caught their attention.

Pryxo went to open it and smiled at who was on the other side, "Speak of the Mobian. Hey, Luna."

"How's it going, Pryxo?", said a red furred half breed. She had hedgehog ears and face, but her quills were down like an echidna's. Even sharp like them too. She was wearing a pair of long black pants, black top and gloves, and a pair of goggles on her head, "I came by as quick as I could when I heard about the news."

Pryxo nodded, "Yeah.. Ven's not to happy right now."

"I can imagine. Hey, Ven. It's me.", Luna said as she came in and gave her a hug, "Hey, listen. Things will be fixed. They all hid you and Chaos always looks after the good, right?"

Ventuss nodded and returned the hug. Tambourine watched the closeness between everyone and felt a little out of place. Back in her village before her banishment, she was considered an outcast. She wasn't born in the village, just dropped there. The only one who seemed to care was her step mother, who found her next to a well. Life in her village was strange because everyone feared her for the color of her fur and the power that she had. The halfbreed looked to Tambourine and asked, "Who's this, Pryxo?"

"That is another one I found. Her name's Tambourine. She's the child of shadows.", Pryxo said while patting Tambourine's head.

Tambourine extended her hand a little shyly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Luna."

Luna took her hand and shook, "Pleasure is mine. Child of shadows, huh? Let's see... that's you, Jasper, Akira, and Ventuss. Four out of seven. That's not bad. Leaving water, light, and fire. I'll be giving you and the others training when Pryxo is out doing his searching."

Tambourine let her shadow cross Luna's and she immediately felt comfort and trust. Tambourine relaxed and looked to the entire group. This was the closest besides her time with Pryxo that she felt to being with a family. She gave a smile and then looked out the window, "Pryxo, when do you leave?"

"I was hoping to go in the morning. Perhaps even the next die. I haven't decided. Will either time be alright with you, Luna?", Pryxo asked.

Luna thought a moment, "Well, either time is fine. Also, I got word from my brother a while back. He said he may be coming in to check on me, so he may also bring in some Freedom Fighters. You think we should send them to the Freedom Fighter for the sake of protection?"

Pryxo crossed his arms and then nodded, "Yeah, but only when I say so. I'm going to see if I can destract either Sunder or Berg so that they don't think of coming this way."

"Cool. I'll let Midnight know then.", Luna said before shuddering a little.

Pryxo chuckled, "He still treats you like a kid?"

"Very much so. I'm not six anymore, but he insists on it.", Luna said while shrugging.

Akira went into the kitchen and got the hot chocolate for Ventuss and they all grabbed cups to join in. Tambourine added sugar to her's and began to drink. Now the thought of leaving was just a little unnerving, but she knew that if it was for the sake of Mobius and bringing the sun back, it was worth it. To lighten the mood, everyone began to share jokes and hopefully cheer Ventuss up. After this, it was back to training with Pryxo. Yippee...

Meanwhile, we take a look into a base that looks similar to Nega's. The difference is that it is on another land mass made of ice. Blizzards were constant and the base was always covered in snow, no matter how much the robots outside were shoveling snow. Outside, there was no fence. Instead, there was a small troop of robots with skinny legs and arms and guns on the right arm of each. As we look inside, it is rather warm and comfortable. We now have a look at the opposite, if you could call him that, of Eggman Nega. Say hello to Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. He was in a big floating pod that allowed him access to his computers and machines. He was working on some upgrades for an old Metal Sonic project he had been working on, until he heard a noise.

"Robotnik!", a little black robot with a jet pack on his back and strange bag on his side came flying in and crashed into the doctor's face.

"Grrrr... what is it now, Bokkun!", Robotnik asked while taking him off of his face and letting the little robot float, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The robot, called Bokkun, pulled out a television set from the bag and placed it on Robotnik's pod and turned it on. It showed a recording of the news broadcast. Robotnik watched the whole thing and then paused when he saw Aero. His eyes widened under his cool blue sunglasses. Rbotnik quickly hit a button in his pod and a pair giant green jars came out from below him. His pod floated downward to look in them and he was very shocked. There were two hedgehogs in the jars. One was a cobalt blue with his quills pointing down slightly and red shoes. The other was exactly like Aero, but with black fur, red highlights, and golden rings. Robonik's eyes shifted from the hedgehog on the screen to the one in his jar.

"You thought the same thing too, doctor?", Bokkun asked.

Robotnik sat back and sighed, "Yes. I thought he escaped and got himself some fur dye or something. But no, that's definitely another one.", he then hit play on the set and continued to watch.

Bokkun was nervous and paced back and forth until Robotnik looked at him with his big brown mustache bouncing a little and said, "I guess I have to move my project a little further, Bokkun. Fetch Berg. Now!"

"Yes, sir!", said Bokkun before he went flying off.

Robotnik sent his pod floating upward to a set of shelves that was holding his inventions. This was marked 'in progress'. He picked up a collar that was flashing with red lights. The collar was his special mind control devise that was meant to be for either Sonic or Shadow. Seeing how the Shadow look alike had used a Chaos Emerald, he thought it would be best suited for Shadow now. The only problem is that the power source needed to use this on the Ultimate Life Form would be great. It is now that he decided to use a Chaos Emerald of his own. He pressed a few buttons and one of the Chaos Emeralds that he had in possession had sprung up and he quickly got to work on the collar.

On the other side of the base, Berg was recovering from his injuries. He had a new burn mark on his arm to add to the already existing on on the other. A matching set from his brother, Pryxo. Berg's anger grew and he looked to the sky, "I know I am right. I will bring peace, and I will be recognized as the hero. Sunder will be my ultimate enemy at the end. Pryxo will fall, and I will remain."

The black robot came in on Berg rather timidly, "Berg... Robotnik wants you."

The ice owl turned around and stared at the robot for a moment and nodded. He rolled his sleeves back down to cover the injuries and then walked to Robotnik's main experiment room. He was shocked the moment that he entered the room. Standing before him was the black and red blur himself. Shadow the Hedgehog. The hedgehog just stood there, his eyes were red and filled with fury, but they were also empty and lifeless. The hedgehog had a collar around his neck that was flashing red, but had a bulk at the front of the collar.

"Ho ho ho! It worked!", Robotnik said as Berg kept staring at the hedgehog, "It only needed a Chaos Emerald. I connected that collar to Shadow's mind and he is under my complete control. He may be the Ultimate Life Form, but even he can't stop the limitless power used from a Chaos Emerald!"

"What are we going to do to this one?", Berg asked while backing up slightly.

Robotnik shook his head, "It's more like what you are going to do with this one. You see, he can be controlled by who ever I choose. I just have to say the magic words. I got this idea from what Bokkun showed me. Turns out that Eggman Nega got himself a hedgehog with similar powers to Shadow here. That being said, if he decided that he wanted to declare open war on us, we'd be done for. Now, you have someone to equal his strength. But, I prefer to win in an arms race.", the now excited Robotnik said as he pushed another button.

From the ground next to the jars that held Shadow rose a box. The box opened to reveal a blue metal doppelganger of the blue hedgehog in the jar. Berg looked at the allies that Robotnik wanted to team him up with and grinned, "I guess Nega's peace treaty is off between us then?"

"Naturally. If anyone is going to own the seven Chaos Emerald and the Children of the Elements, it's going to be me! I will rule this world, and from the ashes shall rise my Eggman Land! Ahahahahaha!", Robotnik laughed as he activated the machine. Metal Sonic's red eyes began to glow and he took a few steps forward so that Berg could see him clearly.

His body was small and was made of mostly a big turbine engine. The arms and legs were skinny but designed for combat because of the claws and mechanics behind them. There were three quills on the metal copy instead of six. Once Metal Sonic was fully operational, it said, "Metal Sonic fully activated. All systems are functional. Ready to serve Doctor Robotnik."

"This one will be under my control, but will be with you. You will have full control of Shadow.", the doctor said before clearing his throat, "Shadow. Commence voice command over ride. New command will be Berg. Confirm command."

The ebony hedgehog looked to Robotnik and then to the owl and said in an emotionless and nearly lifeless voice, "Command Confirmed."

Berg chuckled and looked to his two new partners, "Well, Sunder is going to have his pride hurt more than just a little."

While Robotnik and Berg conspired, Nega was doing his own planning. If anyone believed the old saying that great minds think alike, then it disturbingly applies well to this. Eggman Nega had his own Chaos Emerald and was using a similar mind control collar. Thing was, he was tempted not to use it due to the fact that Silver, his hostage, was just not going to cut it when it came to power. He still tinkered with the collar, thinking that it could come in handy some time in the future. That's when he heard groaning from the cage that he kept. He turned to see that the feline and hedgehog he had caught recently were awake and hungry. Nega pushed a button and a warm bowl of oat meal came out for the two of them to share.

Shine and Fuego both looked at the bowl hungrily and began eating. Shine looked to Nega and said, "Thank you, sir..."

"It's Doctor Eggman Nega. Or Nega. Either way, I'm not letting you starve. I do have some class after all. As opposed to my idiot friend on the other side of the world.", Nega began, "Now, eat. You'll need strength for my experiments."

Fuego ate, but wished his fire powers worked. Unfortunately, Nega put wrist bands that prevent the flow of energy Fuego and Shine both need to use their abilities. He so badly wanted to burn Nega. He turned to face the doctor as well, "I thought you said that you wouldn't hurt us. Won't these experiments hurt?"

Nega turned in his chair and smiled, "Wrong. I am merely observing your powers in a controlled environment."

"Does that mean you will take off these bands?", Shine asked with some hope in her voice.

Nega shook his head, "I will lower the frequency so that you can use some of your power. I want to see what you can do. And see what I can use."

Shine and Fuego gulped before looking at each other and wondering what Nega had in mind. He then turned away and said, "I'd get rest if I were you."

Fuego and Shine went to the beds in the corner and lied down. Sleep was difficult how ever. Not because of the lack of comfort, considering that they were prisoners they actually had it good, but because of what they saw next to the cage. It was a white hedgehog that looked exactly like Fuego before he got a hair cut. His fur around his neck and chest made even more recognizable than the five quills that stuck from the front of his head. Shine just looked at the sleeping hedgehog and whispered at the same time that Fuego did, "Father..."

Back at the base of Blaze's branch of the Freedom Fighters, a golden furred echidna was practicing with a sword and shield. He wore white armor to go with his golden fur and to symbolize his purity of heart. He swung his sword left and right, and at times used his shield to block attacks that happened in his mind. He even used the shield as a weapon to push the opponent in his mind back. He had his imaginary opponent done for until a familiar voice called from behind him, "Jasper, my boy, you never stop practicing. That's good."

The echidna stopped his fight and pulled his visor up so he could look at a red echidna standing in front of him. The gold echidna named Jasper smiled and said, "Hey, dad. How's the Master Emerald?"

"Fine. I left your mother in charge of it, so all is well with it.", the red echidna said. He had large gloves with spikes on it. His tennis shoes were similar to that of a round lego block.

Jasper came up to the ehcidna and put his sword away, then he hit his knuckles against the other echidna's, "Well, I hope she is alright. Did you leave someone with her to keep an eye on her?"

"She isn't that hopeless, Jasper. But I did leave Vector with her to keep an eye open. Now, I was called here by Tails. You seen him?"

Jasper went into thought for a moment and snapped his fingers, "I did see him. He was talking on a radio to Nocturn."

The red echidna sighed, "Nocturn, huh? Is he here?"

"No, dad. He left a long while ago. Something about scouting. He hasn't been back since.", Jasper said and as he said that, he saw the yellow two tailed fox himself, "Tails! My father is here!"

The echidna looked at the fox and the fox looked back at the echidna with large smiles. Tails started using his tails to fly up and said, "What's happenin, Knuckles?"

"Nothing much, Tails!", Knuckles replied before jumping up for a high five.

After they gave the high five, Knuckles got serious and said, "Robotnik has been getting busy lately. And to top it all off, that new hedgehog is helping Sunder make problems. I want to fight, but I don't want everything to be messed up."

"I know, Knuckles... believe me, I want to fight too, but I don't want to risk anyone's safety. Was there any word from Sally's branch?", Tails asked with a worried look.

"Yeah, they got word from Luna in Central City. Midnight is going to send an escort as soon as possible to pick up the others.", Knuckles said.

Jasper heard this and asked, "Does that mean Akira, Ven, and Luna are all coming?"

"No. Midnight won't let Luna out of that city. It's going to be Ven and Akira. Plus a third one that Pryxo found.", Knuckles stated.

"I thought Pryxo was going to stay neutral...", Jasper said, half in surprise.

Tails pointed out, "Remember, circumstances change when things get out of control. Sunder is getting help, so you can bet that Robotnik will bring in help for Berg. It may become a battle for them, but we will intercept when we can and turn the tides of things."

Jasper took all of this in, "Okay, but that doesn't explain why you wanted my dad, Tails."

"That's easy. You see, we're going to break into Nega's base.", Tails said with a smile.

Jasper's eyes widened and he asked, "Can I come?"

"Well, I don't know. It was supposed to be just me, Tails, and Blaze. Well... I suppose that you can come. That way, you can see your old man in action.", Knuckles said while cracking his knuckles.

Jasper smiled and shouted, "Sweet. As a knight, I won't let you down."

"That's good, cuz it's a rescue mission. We know that there are three Mobians that were taken and put in Nega's base. I am working on gadgets so we can get in with little effort. I need some time, but we will be there in no time.", Tails said before beginning to walk to the hall, "Oh... and Blaze called in on the help of an old friend, Knuckles."

"Who?", the echidna asked before seeing a white bat with black wings, a single piece suit with a heart shaped chest piece fly in. She had long boots that had similar heart shaped tips on it and she hung upside down in the room, "Well, hi, Knuckie."

"Grrrr... Rouge! She called in Rouge!", Knuckles shouted while flailing his arms, "But she's batty! I can't stand to be in the same room as her, let alone the mission."

"Well, knuckle-head, the base is in capable of being scanned by satellite. You guys need someone who can get a good sense of direction of the base with out the use of technology and wasted effort.", the bat said with a smirk, "And I'm that person. With my echo location, I can see in that base with out my eyes and I can tell you where what door leads."

Knuckles just clenched his fists and then took a deep breath before looking at Tails, "Do we really need her?"

"Yes, Knuckles. It's an order from Blaze and we really need Rouge's help. This time, she didn't get G.U.N involved though.", Tails pointed out, "This makes it that much easier on us."

"Those guys were going to make it difficult any way. I quit the moment Shadow did before disappearing.", Rouge said with a hint of sadness, "Now, what are we waiting for? Where are we going to talk more about the mission?"

"With Blaze. She is in the thrown room.", Tails said before leading the way. The entire group followed with a very excited and proud Jasper following behind.

**Author's Note**

**Alright, summer is here and I will write more often if a job doesn't get in my way. I hope this chapter left enough questions for you to make a deduction here and there. If not, then I shall do a better job of it next chapter. Time to a voice thing. Ahem. Shadow and Metal Sonic are now on the loose with Berg. Sunder is manipulating Aero, and what are these Eggmen up to? The Freedom Fighters better act quickly, or their window of opportunity will close forever. And where did Nocturn go? Find out on the next episode of Children of the Elements. Read and review please.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Escape and Clash**

Rain... rain... and more rain. This was more than the old wolf could stand. Nocturn was sitting in a nicely made net sitting about a mile off of Nega's scopes. The fact that he had forest cover only added to it. He had been watching the fence and the weapons. Nega's robots always check the turrets before the end of every day, so they are all in tip top condition. The fence gets a similar treatment. The only little flaw that he saw after scouting the place for the past few days was that all the turrets and defenses were to one side. It was facing in the direction of where the Freedom Fighter's base would be. That would be a problem unless he got to warning them. Luckily, he had his radio ready in the event that something were to happen. Aside from the habit of seeing the place get fixed, he also saw Sunder and a strange white and blue hedgehog running out to do some deeds.

"With this rain, I think I might go a little edgy...", Nocturn muttered to himself while adjusting his cover to the wind.

After he had been staring at the base for as long as he did, he relaxed himself under the tent and sighed, "Maybe this will be my final act. I don't know.", he continued to think back to his earlier life. He doesn't remember much about it though. He was born, raised, messed around with, and then suddenly, here he is.

"Perhaps... I should reconsider this...", he picked up the radio and called in on Tails.

"This is Miles Prower.", the voice on the other end said.

Nocturn took a deep breath, "Hey, letting you know this in advance. If you ever come near Nega's base, you should go around the other side while the guns are shooting."

"What makes you sure they will shoot?", Tails asked, some nervousness hinted in his voice.

Nocturn kept silent for a moment and sighed, "Don't worry about details.", he looked out to the base with a stern expression, "I know I haven't said this enough, but thanks for all your help and keep up the good work. Alright?"

The silence on the other end suggested shock. Tails wasn't used to hearing a single word of thanks from Nocturn, so this was definitely new to him, "Um... alright. I'll do my best, sir."

"Good. I have something to do. Radio me when your team mobilizes.", Nocturn said before signing off.

Tails just stared at his radio with several emotions running through his head. Sadness, fear, confusion, and more that was a little difficult to process. He put the radio away and directed his attention to the group that had gathered in Blaze's thrown room. Rouge was hanging upside down on a chandelier while Knuckles and Jasper sat side by side next to the table. Tails stood next to Blaze as they were discussing what it was that Tails had made for this mission. On the table was a small lazor, but it was demolition type (for making holes), a set of EM pulse grenades, and remote control to who knows what. Tails made a coughing noise to get everyone's attention, "Okay, this is simple. Or at least it should be. We are going to go inside from a different direction. The opposite way because of what Nocturn said."

"And those little gadgets?", Knuckles asked, pointing to the little lazor.

"Oh, that's for making holes in wall. Just in case your fists can't penetrate. Rouge will be giving us the lay out of the base with her echo location. The holes are for quick escape on the ground."

"And if we have enemies on the ground that over run us?", Jasper asked, seeming to think the same question as Knuckles.

Tails picked up the remote that on the table and said, "This will help. It's a remote that connects to the X Tornado. I figured we'll need a quick escape for us, so this is an emergency last resort. The only thing is, if it gets to it, it will be me and the ones we're getting out of there that will fly with me. Rouge can fly herself, and you and your dad can dig."

Jasper seemed to be considering this and said, "Yeah, that makes sense, but I'm going to trash that base before I dig away. I may be a knight, but Nega has a lot to answer for."

Rouge chuckled a little before saying, "That's definitely Knuckle's boy. Both of you think with more strength than with any brain."

Jasper looked up at the bat and said, "Dad has told me a bit about you, Miss Rouge. Mostly of you flirting with him, and him turning you down every time. What's the term? Batty?"

Rouge giggled and nodded, "That's right, kid. Good to hear that someone is mentioning me. I thought I would be forgotten."

"No one could forget you, Rouge.", Tails pointed out while shaking his head, "As for any enemies that come in large numbers, that's why I made these EM pulse grenades. Aside from disabling any tech that Nega has planned for us, it will disable the robots he has hiding around to take us down."

"Well, this all seems well and good, but what do we do about any Chaos Emeralds that may be hiding around there?", Knuckles asked with a bit of a grim attitude, "I'm not saying that this other stuff is unimportant, but we do need an Emerald or two. And we all saw the news on that hedgehog that had one."

"He looked disturbingly a lot like Shadow, except with the color... If we're lucky, he'll leave the gems there for us to take.", Rouge sighed hopefully.

Tails then looked to Blaze for approval of this plan and she finally said, "This plan looks pretty sound. We storm in, knock out and destroy what we can along the way, and rescue these people while collecting any Emeralds along the way... I just hope we can do this with out losing anyone."

Rouge giggled from above, "You worry too much, Blaze. We'll be fine in there. You're coming of course?"

"Naturally. While we're there, I'm not only looking for those captives, I'll be looking for...", Blaze trailed off when she said Silver's name.

No one needed to say a word about the situation now. They all knew the plan, what was at stake, and the possible danger of it all. Everyone grabbed what they needed and readied for departure. Jasper had his armor, sword, and shield while Knuckles got his Shovel Claws and nothing more. Rouge grabbed the EM grenades and Tails just readied his X-Tornado for action. All Blaze needed was her space.

In another base, in Knothole, Midnight was reaching his sister on his cell phone. He had called about four times earlier, but knew she was either awake or ignoring him a little. He knew the fourth call was usually the one she would pick up at.

"Hello? Midnight?", Luna's voice asked.

Midnight smiled and said, "Hey, sis. We're coming today to pick up the guys. Are they all ready for the trip?"

"Almost. Ven was taking the news hard from when that hedgehog ruined a city with Sunder. Akira is helping picking up the slack. And finally, Tambourine is keeping an eye outside for us on the weather. No storms of any kind.", Luna listed while sounding like she was packing too.

"Just remember not to leave. I don't want you getting hurt, alright?", Midnight sighed while rubbing his eyes, "No sense in getting yourself killed in a stupid war."

"What's your excuse then?", Luna asked, already not sounding all that happy, "I mean, you're out there risking your neck to keep me and countless others safe. I really want to join in."

"I'm the older brother. It's my responsibility to keep you safe at the cost of my own safety.", Midnight shot back. This argument wasn't new, and it wasn't the last. Midnight had always been over protective of his sister, but never one to actually listen to anything she said. She could grow up to be a hundred and one, but Midnight will still treat her like she were ten or five.

Luna was ready to hang up, but said, "Fine... but that excuse won't be what stops me one day, got it?"

Midnight chuckled to himself, "Right. See ya, sis.", he then hung up. The heavily armored truck awaited him and it's protectors. It was the Chaotix crew again.

"We're all set to go. I know we are hired for most anything, but it would be nice if it were a case once in a while, you know?", the green crocodile mumbled.

"Now, Vector, in this time we can't be picky.", Espio, our purple chameleon, said.

A hyper active bee was buzzing around while saying, "Yeah, Vector. When we're broke, we can't be picky."

"I know, I know. I just miss the days when we had a case here and there. You know?", Vector said to the two of them. He appeared to be nostalgic.

"Are you thinking of the good old days, or are you thinking of Miss Vanilla?", the bee asked while giving Vector a sly look.

Espio shook his head, "Is now really the time, Charmy? We're going to be leaving to pick up those kids soon."

Charmy just sighed and flew into the truck. Vector was getting into the driver's seat and Espio followed along side, "Yo, Midnight. We're leaving you know?", Vector shouted from the window before turning on his headphones that he always seemed to have on.

Midnight laughed a little before hopping into the truck from the back. He gave a thumbs up and for the truck to get started, and the four of them were starting through the wasteland to Central City. The trip was going to be long, not as long as by foot, and a little boring. So, Midnight looked out the window and kept his eyes on the sky. It was all too obvious that he wished the sun would show up some time. He also knew that Pryxo had the power to make it show up here and there, so why wasn't he doing so against his brothers? He shook his head, knowing it wasn't that wise to question a bird like him.

"Um... Midnight, I think we may have a problem...", Charmy said while gulping and looking out the window.

Midnight blinked a few times before going to Charmy's window and seeing a sheet of white moving. It was snow. Midnight got chills, and it wasn't from the decreasing temperatures. Then he heard a sound of thunder on the other side of the truck. On that side, he could see approaching rain. A speaker in the back sounded off, "Yo, guys. You see the sky?"

"We do, Vector. It looks like Sunder and Berg are both on the move. They must be going for either each other or...", Charmy didn't dare finish before gulping, "Is it too late to change jobs?"

"Charmy, be serious!", Espio shouted in the back.

Midnight got shaky before he grabbed his cell phone and called Luna again, "Please don't ignore... please pick up... please pick up..."

"Hello? Midnight, you really got to stop calling so many-", Luna started to say before being cut off.

Midnight frantically said, "Luna, listen to me! We're on our way right now, and we got Berg and Sunder on our sides. They seem to be heading for Central City!"

There was silence on the other line and a sound of the phone being dropped before being picked up again, "Midnight, are you sure?"

"Would I really joke around about something like this?", Midnight asked before he said, "Don't answer that. Just get everyone out of there. And be ready too. I'm not leaving you there with those guys about to clash."

Luna nodded frantically on her end before she realized he didn't see, "Okay. I'll let Pryxo know as well. Get here quickly."

They both hung up and Midnight shouted to Vector, "Get this thing moving!"

Vector didn't even answer. He put the pedal to the floor of the truck and they went zooming on. While this was going on, Luna was quickly packing her belongings. Some clothes, books on the supernatural and magic, and finally a book of legends. With everything packed, she ran down street after street, getting to the apartment where Pryxo and the others were staying. She banged on the door for anyone to hear. It was Tambourine who answered, "Luna? What are you doing here?"

"We got a problem. Sunder and Berg are on the move. We got to get everyone out of here and heading out to the meeting area before they get here.", Luna said quickly before looking to see if everyone was ready. She sighed in relief to see that Pryxo didn't really leave the area either, which in itself was a little strange.

"They're coming now?", Pryxo asked before looking out the window.

Luna nodded, "Yeah, and so are Berg and Sunder."

Pryxo clenched his fists before he relaxed and went to the kitchen quickly. He was digging around cabinets and drawers before he found what he was looking for. He smiled a little before giving the box over to Luna, "This box has some information that I have collected in locating the Child of Water."

"Why are you giving this to me?", Luna asked, looking around rather confused.

Pryxo smirked before patting the top of her head, "Well, I'm going to see if I can hold back Sunder and Berg for you guys. That means that I'll be left behind and may even get a little... if not very injured. In case something happens, and I'm not at Knothole by... tomorrow, just look through the notes in the box and look for the Child of Water."

"Why just the Child of Water? What about Fire and Light?", Luna asked.

Akira didn't mean to be rude, but he interrupted, "Because Fire and Light are supposed to find us. Pryxo said something about them not being from here. I don't get it."

Pryxo chuckled, "You will soon enough. Just try your best to get to Knothole. When in the truck, no one leaves the truck under any circumstances, and no stops either. Got it?"

Ventuss, Akira, and Luna all nodded. Tambourine's heart was racing as she began to think about Sunder trying to come after them. She still remembers her first encounter with the thunder bird and all his electric power. Looking at her feet, she nodded as well before going to the door, "Shall we go then?"

Pryxo chuckled a little, "Get going. I'm going to pay my brothers a visit."

With that, Pryxo went out the window after opening it and in a burst of flames, disappeared. Luna and the others saw this and shuddered before running out, "Alright, remember the training that Pryxo gave you guys, and we got to stay together."

Akira nodded and put his skates on before running out the door with Ventuss close by. She still wore her comfortable business suit, but still refused to wear a skirt. Tambourine had been wearing the same thing since she met Pryxo. A cloak as black as her fur, with the hood not even put on. Luna adjusted her goggles before setting out with her group. She prayed and hoped to Chaos that nothing would happen to them or Pryxo.

Now, let's have a look at how Nocturn is doing in his current location. He is still outside of Nega's base and was loading his pistols. No doubt, his blood was hot with the thought of death on his mind. Not others but his own. He knew that if he was going to ensure that Tails made the other escape, he was going to have to provide a diversion with either the cost of a limb or his life. Considering the number of guns the base had and the robots, he was going to need a miracle.

He grabbed his radio and called in Tails, "Are you on your way?"

"Yeah. We can see the base from where we are. Where are you?", Tails asked from his side.

Nocturn only chuckled a little, "Don't worry about that, friend. Just remember what I told you."

"We go around. I got it, sir. I got the whole team ready for the rescue. I'll see ya after the mission.", Tails said before turning off the radio.

Nocturn looked up at the cloudy sky and shook his head, "Tails, if you only knew.", he then readied his pistols and walked slowly to the front of the base.

The turrets that were on the base all faced him automatically and he didn't flinch. He only looked up and pointed his finger at one of them like it were a gun and made shooting gestures. A voice came from speakers, "Who might you be? And what are you doing?"

"No one special, Nega. As for what I'm doing here, I'm practicing.", Nocturn said and kept making shooting gestures at different turrets.

"Well, don't you look stupid? What do you intend to accomplish with a finger gun?", Nega asked while laughing a little.

Nocturn chuckled and said, "I suppose you are right. This is more appropriate.", he then pulled out two pistols and shot at the turrets that he was pretending to shoot at earlier. The bullet appeared to just go through them, then they exploded as soon as they went into the turrets, "Thank you Tails for the use of your EX-bullets."

The turrets all activated on command of Nega, "Fire!"

That was Nocturn's cue to duck and hide among trees and rocks for protection, "Come and get me, Nega.", he mumbled to himself before jumping to another rock while shooting at the turrets.

Inside the base, Nega was tapping his index finger on the arm of his chair while watching the old wolf just dodge and shoot, destroying a good number of his turrets, "I almost feel bad for sending Sunder out with Aero. I guess I'll just have to use my robots."

With him were Shine and Fuego. They looked at the screen with curiosity and raised hopes as the wolf jumped from hiding spot to the open and shoot turrets and then return to hiding. Nega pushed a button when his turret count was reduced to about ten in total. From the doors came a small army of his robots. They were similar in design to the eggbots that Robotnik had, only they were more black and white as opposed to the orange and yellow color scheme. Fuego and Shine silently began praying to Chaos for protection and to be saved. All while this was happening, Tails was on the other side, hearing the shots coming from that end.

"Rouge, hurry up. We got to get in there.", Blaze shouted with her fists already on fire.

Rouge wasn't one to be rushed, but even she new the urgency of this mission. Here ears were twitching and moving from left to right to pick up any sound and then she found a hollow spot, "Aha! This part is slightly weaker than the others. Pass me the laser."

Tails handed it to Rouge and she began to cut into the wall slowly so as not to penetrate all the way through and trip and alarm. She made a circle that was big enough for everyone to go in two at a time. She looked to Knuckles and said, "Alright, punch the center."

Knuckles crackled his name sake and with a well aimed punch, the loose circle flew out and onto the ground, crumbling into pieces. He and Jasper were the first in, followed by Rouge and Tails, and Blaze at the rear. Rouge got a quick echo through the base and she detected many open doors from where robots used to be, "This place is empty. How is that possible?"

Tails tried to process this and then realized, "Nocturn... now I get it..."

"What is it Tails?", Blaze asked while turning her attention to him.

"It's nothing. The plan is the same. We have to make the escape holes and-", before Tails could finish, Jasper was tearing at the walls with his sword, heading towards the center of the base, "Jasper, what are you doing?"

"If we go at this pace, we won't save them! They are like me!", Jasper shouted before resuming his slashing.

Blaze was confused by what he said until she looked at Jasper's determination and asked, "They are of the Elements? You are sure?"

"Positive!", Jasper said before finally getting through, "Don't stand there, help me!"

Blaze smiled and looked to Rouge, "Excuse me. Could please help us plot a route to the center?"

"Already ahead of you, Princess. Jasper is going the right way, but he needs to be careful or he'll set off and alarm.", Rouge commented, and right on cue, the system was on alert and the place became red from the lights.

Jasper looked at the group with a sweat drop before he said, "Oops..."

Meanwhile, let's get a look at our Chaotix crew as they drive into outer bounds of Central City. Vector shouted through the com, "Midnight, we're coming up and the kids are out there. How's the storms?"

"They're closing in as well. We got to get them and move.", Midnight reported.

Charmy shouted, "Go go go! I don't want to be around for this clash!"

The truck quickly stopped at their destination and with out a moment of waiting, the truck had Ventuss, Akira, and Tambourine pushed in. Luna was in as well after loading the bags, "Let's get moving, bro!"

Midnight nodded, but was pulled into the driver's seat, "What is it, Vector?"

"You're driving. Keep it at full speed while Espio and I take care of some chasers.", Vector said before climbing on top of the truck and readying a Gatling gun to fire, "Espio, you got your throwing stars?"

"Naturally.", Espio said before producing a one, "Drive, Midnight!"

Midnight didn't hesitate to start up the truck. He drove straight to where they had come from, doing his best to navigate through the storms that came together. Thunderstorm and Blizzard. Snow and rain. Thunder and Hail. It was the worst weather ever seen. It looked like it would get worse when Vector saw a familiar bird coming towards them from behind, "Here they come!"

Espio started throwing his stars toward the bird and hedgehog duo that tried rushing them. Vector also started shooting at them, trying to keep his aim sharp through the storm. The combination of the storm and the speed of Sunder and Aero were enough to evade every projectile. Aero readied to toss a Chaos Spear at the truck, but they were stopped by several Ice Spears coming down in front of them. Sunder and Aero looked at the spears before looking to the owner who stood before them. Berg.

"My my. Seems your partner is strong.", Berg said while creating another spear.

Sunder growled, "You idiot. No no one will get them!"

"No. As long as you don't have them and I get them later, it all works out in the end. Meet my friends.", Berg announced as two figures came into view.

Shadow the hedgehog and Metal Sonic stood on both sides of Berg while Sunder looked at them with much displeasure, "You copy cat. Can't be original, huh?"

"I'd say none of you can.", a voice said from the wind before a circle of flames went around them, trapping them in a small battle field.

They all looked to the phoenix responsible for this. He grinned and said, "So, shall we skip the formalities? I never was really good with names that aren't close to me."

"Metal Sonic, Shadow. Take care of the other hedgehog. I'll deal with Sunder and Pryxo.", Berg ordered to his hedgehogs.

Shadow's emotionless eyes fell on Aero once more and he uttered, "Understood..."

The metal hedgehog's eyes seemed to flash, trying to confirm the order before it's deep voice resonated in the battle field, "Orders confirmed by Robotnik. Target, Prototype Aero."

Aero gripped his Chaos Emerald and glared at the two. Not because they were his enemies, but because Shadow, the Final Product, was just acting more like a machine. Sunder chuckled and said, "Make sure to stomp them to the ground, Aero."

Aero nodded, disgusted by this, but he knew it was for a cause he had to keep. He kept reminding himself that he was doing this for Shine and Fuego. No one else. He quickly went into a spin dash that knocked Metal Sonic back a few feet, nearly touching the scorching hot firewalls that confined them to the battle field and kept the storm out. When Aero was out of the spin dash, Shadow rushed to him and round house kicked him to the floor face first. Aero admitted that he wasn't expecting Shadow to be that strong. So, he quickly got up and rushed to him for a series of punches. Shadow, though blank in the face when it came to emotion, effortlessly blocked them, not even bothering to show if he was frustrated.

Metal Sonic was analyzing the battle before using the engine on his back to push him forward. Using his legs, he kicked Aero in the sides, leaving him vulnerable to Shadow's counter punches. Pryxo watched the battle from his part of the field, looking to Berg, then Sunder and he said, "Do we really have to do this? I mean, I prefer just talking."

"Past time for that, brother. You had your chance when I wanted you to join me.", Berg said before summoning some spears from ice. Despite the heat in the arena, he was still able to call on ice.

Sunder held tight ti his javelin and growled, "Same. Granted, you would have been destroyed in my empire, but still. Only the strongest lives. And that will be me."

Pyxo shook his head and only assumed a fighting stance. Simple Wing Chun. But he knew it would be effective, "Alright. Then let's do this.", he kept stationary while Sunder shot thunder down at Pryxo.

Berg even tossed a few of his spears at the fire bird. All this proved in vain as Pryxo side stepped from the thunder and using his hands, and arms as guides, redirected them to the ground, acting as lightning rods to attract all the other bolts that Sunder sent out. With a small smirk, Pryxo called on his flames to melt the spears on the ground and then aimed his flames at his brothers, letting his arms act as the guides again.

Sunder side stepped, and rushed at the fire bird with thunder charged fists. Pryxo remained virtually stationary, refusing to move from his spot unless he needed to. And with his arms as guides again, he moved Sunder's fists away, and pushed him back. Berg watched this a moment and then rushed Pryxo from behind, holding his spears with the intention to kill. Pryxo only stomped on the ground before flames blocked Berg's advances. He looked over his shoulder to Berg and shook his head in regret for having to fight his brothers, "And to think, you were the wisest."

Sunder took the opportunity to punch Pryxo in the face, making Pryxo back off a little. He glared at Sunder and said, "And you... the more divine and worshiped. All this war and ambition blinds you!", he yelled into the sky let the flames encase his body, forming a kind of armor.

Sunder grinned and just put his palm to the ground, sending an electrical shock to Pryxo and Berg. Both were shocked badly due to the water on the ground from Pryxo melting the ice. Sunder laughed at them while letting his shocks pulse through the ground. Berg was getting angry before he held his hand out and froze what he could in the air and ground, making it ice that held Sunder where he was.

Pryxo gave a thumbs up before kicking Berg's legs and bringing him down. His flaming armor still on when he did so, scorched Berg's legs, causing the bird to cry out in pain. Sunder broke from his icy prison before charging at Pryxo and Berg, not caring who he got his talons on first.

Meanwhile, Aero was basically getting his butt handed to him. Metal Sonic kept coming from no where to rush and kick at him while Shadow seemed to come after with a succession of punches and Chaos Spears. The separate groups all kept fighting on with their own styles. Now, let's get a look at how the rescue is doing.

"This is actually exciting. I missed doing this with you guys.", Rouge said while moving along and kicking robots to the ground and smashing them.

Tails was panting while swiping his namesake under robot's legs to trip them up and have them burned by Blaze running by, "We can save the nostalgia for later, Rouge."

Jasper hacked away at the incoming robots, not letting any come near Blaze or Tails. Knuckles had been digging and came from under the robots, bashing them into bits, "Are we even getting closer to those people?"

"I hear them. They are behind this door. Looks like Nega abandoned the base.", Rouge shouted before taking Tails' laser and shot it around the door quickly. The wall was thin enough for her to make quick work of the door and kick it down.

Blaze and Jasper didn't waste any time in jumping through the door and looking in the room. Rouge was right. Nega had gone, and everything here didn't seem right. It looked like he lost his temper. What made it worse was that the self destruct was activated before he had flown off. Jasper looked around and saw that there was a cage that held the hedgehog and feline he was looking for. The cat was laying on her side with blood coming from her head. The hedgehog was awake and trying to get out.

"Help us out of here!", the hedgehog cried out, "Please!"

Jasper replied, "No worries. We'll get you out.", he cut down the bars with little effort and they fell to the ground. The hedgehog was trying to move his feline companion and, luckily, Knuckles was their to pick her up, "Tails, call that plane of yours and fast. This place is set to blow in two minutes."

"Already done, Knuckles.", Tails called back before he saw the pod next to the cage, "Is that...?"

"Silver!", Blaze called out before running to the pod, looking for a way to open it.

Tails ran to it and then called to Knuckles, "We got to take this pod. Silver is in it."

"Alright. Jasper, take the girl. Rouge, help me out.", Knuckles shouted, punching the ground to loosen the pod a bit.

Rouge went to the side and stopped the pod from falling over, "How do we get it out?"

"In the Tornado. Knuckles, Jasper, take the kids out of here.", Tails called when he saw they were down to their last minute and the tornado finally came in.

Blaze followed Tails with the pod to load it in the plane. Knuckles had started digging quickly getting distance from the base to lessen the shock wave impact that was sure to come. Jasper followed, holding the cat and leading the hedgehog down the hole. And what of Rouge? She had flown away when she helped load the pod on the Tornado. Blaze and Tails were already in the air when the explosion went off.

BOOM! It lit up the sky in a mushroom cloud of flame, debris, and soot. Tails looked over his shoulder to look at the explosion and said, "He wanted to ensure we didn't get out of there alive..."

"Why did he leave the hostages though? Didn't he need them?", Blaze asked while checking on Silver behind her.

Tails thought it over and was ready to say the worst possible reason for why Nega would do this, but was interrupted by the radio, "Tails, this is Knuckles. We made it. I'm digging faster than I thought I could, but we are heading to the base."

"How are the hostages?", Tails replied.

"They're fine. Jasper had his shield to block any thing from hitting us in the tunnel. Their names are Shine and Fuego. The hedgehog, Fuego, said that his sister, the cat, was hit hard. You think the docs at the base will be ready when we get there?", Knuckles asked with a bit of a tremor in his voice.

Tails didn't like the tremor and felt something was wrong, "Okay, I'll do that.", he tuned the radio to contact Nocturn. Every attempt only came back as silence. That wasn't good either.

**Quick Note: Alright, I know that I just switch scenes left and right, so let's try something new for the last segments of this chapter. I'm going to put (…) to represent time passing and the transition of a scene to another. I hope this is alright. It will be used for the rest of the story for the sake of keeping everything together.**

Midnight pulled into the base, happy to see that everything was clear and that the storms didn't pursue them at all. Vector was sighing in relief when he hopped down from the top of the truck, "Alright. We're safe thanks to those guys fighting back there. How are the passengers?"

"Umm... a little confused back here.", Charmy called from the back, "We got Luna, Ventuss, and Akira."

"Wait, that's only three... who's missing?", Espio aked after hopping down.

Luna came out and was looking frantically, "Where's Tambourine? Did anyone see her?"

"She came with us, I know that for sure.", Ventuss said before hopping out of the vehicle with Luna.

Akira came out with a disturbed look on his face, "I saw her vanish..."

"What?", Midnight asked, "What do you mean vanish?"

Akira looked at everyone, since all eyes were on him anyway, "She sunk into her own shadow after curling up. She was crying through the whole ride and I wanted to ask if she was okay, but before I could she sank in her shadow like it were a hole and was gone..."

"This isn't good... where could she have disappeared to?", Luna asked, getting worried.

As for where Tambourine was, she was in a place that she didn't expect. She stopped crying long enough to see that she was no longer inside the truck. She looked around herself and saw only darkness, but she could feel that it was a rushing darkness, like she was moving, or that the darkness was moving around her. She heard suffering, explosions, fire, and fighting. She heard Pryxo's voice and followed it because it was the only thing she thought that was familiar. She followed the sound and saw what looked like a moving window. In fact, she saw many moving windows, and they each were going fast and were the source of the noises she heard. She finally saw the window where Pryxo's voice was coming from and she hopped through it. She wish she didn't.

Pryxo was nothing but flames with his armor and was holding off Berg and Sunder, but barely. The two were fighting with Pryxo and each other, so the whole thing was nothing but an energy drain. Fire, ice, and thunder clashing with out end in the stalemate with in the arena. She looked to the side to see a white and blue hedgehog. The same one that helped Sunder destroy Ventuss' home, and she was ready to move forward to attack, but was scared out of her mind from what was going on. All she could see of them was that the blue and white hedgehog was on the ground while a black and red hedgehog was approaching him.

The white and blue hedgehog was glaring at the ebony hedgehog while coughing up blood. He did damage to the other, but barely. Aside from scratches and burns, Shadow appeared to have no problem moving to Aero. Next to him, Metal Sonic, with quills chipped and arms and legs dented, also made his approach.

"Target nearly neutralized. Assessment of Prototype is hardly a threat.", Metal Sonic said, still acting as a metallic zombie.

Those words infuriated Aero to no end. He had heard that over and over and over from the cobalt machine. He couldn't take it anymore, "Shut up... shut up... shut up!", he yelled and his eyes grew to a crimson color.

This stopped Shadow and Metal Sonic's advancements. They should have gone for the kill instead. Aero's fur flashed to a dark purple color, the once calm blue highlights made way to a bloody red. And what made it worse was that from the yelling, came sickening laughter, "Well, isn't this nice? Trying to put an end to me, huh? Well, let me show you what a Prototype can really do!"

Aero disappeared for a moment and reappeared behind Shadow, and he grabbed Shadow by his collared neck, "Not so tough now, are you? Chaos Inferno!"

Shadow, as surprised as anyone, shouted out in pain as his body came into contact with the Chaos Energy flames. It ultimately overloaded the collar and broke it, making Shadow snap out of it and wake into the confusing nightmare. Aero continued to laugh, but was kicked to the side by Metal Sonic, breaking the inferno long enough for Shadow to fall on the ground, panting. Shadow looked all around him, trying to calmly take in the situation. He saw the Emerald and didn't bother to ask questions. He quickly grabbed it and thought of GUN base before shouting, "Chaos Control!" and he was gone, leaving Metal Sonic to deal with a Berserk Aero.

"You do not act like the Prototype. Identify yourself.", Metal Sonic said to Aero as he rose from the ground with laughter.

His scarlet eyes fell on Metal Sonic before gripped his Chaos Emerald and shouted, "Chaos Control!", disappearing and reappearing next to him, "That's an easy question to answer. I'm Dark Spine Aero. I'd commit that to your memory banks because it will be the last thing loaded in your hard drive!"

Metal Sonic was ready to toss up his barrier to block any attack, but was too late. Dark Spine Aero had punched into Metal Sonic's chest plate and unleashed a Chaos Spear directly into his energy core. Overloading, Metal Sonic burst into flames and fell to the ground, sparking and shut down. The fiendish hedgehog laughed with blood lust before he looked at the no longer fighting trio of birds, "Oh, don't stop on my account. Please go on. I was going to take on the last one standing."

Sunder saw the crazed hedgehog and was growling. How dare someone, especially an artificial being like Aero, just get the strength from no where and try to overpower him. He rushed to Dark Spine Aero with his javelin ready to pierce and shock the hedgehog into submission.

"Wait, brother!", Pryxo called out, but was too late.

Aero curled up and uttered, "Chaos...", his body began to glow, but this didn't stop Sunder from running to the hedgehog. He was determined to prove that he was the strongest being this world would ever know, "Blast!"

Sunder was caught in the explosion that originated from the berserk hedgehog. With a shout of pain, Sunder was on the ground with the javelin next to him. Dark Spine Aero looked at the other two birds that were sent to the ground as well. Unlike Sunder, they were still awake. Dark Spine shook his head, "Awww, I was hoping to see you guys gone. Well, this will blow you away. Chaos Whirlwind!"

He pointed both of his palms to the trio, and unleashed the energy in the form of a tornado class gust of wind. It tore and slashed at Sunder, until he was unrecognizable, and Berg was shredded to lack of existence. Pryxo kept his flame armor to counter it enough to remain some what in tact, but he was shocked to see his brothers were dead, "No... Sunder, Berg... I didn't want this...", he looked to Aero with anger of his own.

"Oh? Is the birdy going to cry?", Aero chuckled and went into a spin dash towards Pryxo.

The phoenix held his hands up, but was spun into the ground, his flames put out and a majority of his bones broken. He coughed up blood when he bounced off the ground and was sent a little ways off. Dark Spine Aero looked at the still breathing body of Pryxo and then saw the ebony echidna that was watching the entire scene. She was frozen, wide eyed, and unable to speak. He then thought it would be best to have something to spread his reputation, so he turned his back from the two of them and skated away, leaving Tambourine to finally snap out of it and run to Pryxo.

"Pryxo... we can make you better... we can... I just have to...", Tambourine was blabbering and crying too hard to think or speak straight.

Pryxo coughed up some blood and shook his head. Though pain shot from every part of his body, and the storms disappeared, he said, "No... I need this... I need this... Tam... stop crying, please..."

Tambourine sniffled and took deep breaths, not sure of what she was supposed to do. She picked up his head and laid it on her lap while she sat with him. She wanted to say that she could save him, but he began to speak first, "It's funny... I thought... I would die quickly and be done with it... this is the first time someone is around when I'm the one who's sick... weird huh?"

"Can't your tears fix this?", Tambourine asked, remembering how she was given the bottle after bottle.

Pryxo shook his head and smiled. It was weird to see a bloody and mangled bird smile, almost disturbingly funny, "Not even those can fix this... I guess Luna is going to have to take care of you guys for a while... I'm going to have a long talk with my brothers when I see them again."

The way he said this was so full optimism and energy that it confused Tambourine. Death was supposed to be a sad thing. Supposed to be scary. Why wasn't Pryxo afraid? She wanted to know, but even then, she felt the life leaving Pryxo as he said, "See you soon, Tammy."

Tambourine's eyes shot wide when he said that. See her soon? Did he think she was going to die as well? That she was doomed. Tambourine's eyes filled with tears not because Pryxo finally passed in her arms, but because she now feared a death she didn't want. She put Pryxo down gently before she backed away from the body slowly, looking down at Pryxo. He left her, and she was to die soon...

"_You don't have to die. You have so much to do, Tambourine._", a voice from behind her said. She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing, "_In you shadow, child of darkness._"

She moved her head to her shadow and saw that there were a pair of green serpent like eyes. The abyssal pupils looked at her completely focused on her sapphire eyes, "Who are you?"

"_I am a friend. I am the key to helping fulfill your dream._", the voice continued as it rose from her shadow in a liquid kind of form, "_You want to wipe the world of it's dark sinners, and claim justice for the ones that took their sins onto you._"

"How do you know this?", Tambourine asked the figure in the shadow, surprisingly not afraid of it at all.

The shadow took the vague form of a hedgehog, "_I know a lot about you, Tambourine. You lived a hard life, were hurt by many, and anyone that was close to you was taken away. I have been waiting for the right time to help you, but you needed to understand true despair._", the figure extended a hand to her and opened it to take her's, "_You have felt it, and I will ensure that you never feel it again. All you have to do is let me in._"

Tambourine took everything that he said in with a somewhat dark way. She was comfortable with this darkness that she had. She thought all of this was strange and didn't want any part of this, but now, it suddenly made her think that the suffering was brought up for this. She looked at the figure with a bit of an aura forming around her that was as dark as her fur and asked, "Who are you?", and she extended her hand to it.

Tambourine closed her eyes and took him into her being, feeling rage, vengeance, and a hunger for destruction. She knew where to focus all of that. When she opened her eyes, she had a sweet smile, one blue eye, and the other a sinister green. She could hear his voice in her mind as it responded, "_I am Mephiles._"

**Author's Note**

**I'm sorry for the delay in getting this fic updated. I wanted to get as much done as possible in one chapter and getting it all while trying to keep an air of mystery is not as easy as it sounds. Well, all hell has broken loose as we end Nega's involvement temporarily, and we focus on some new issues. Eggman is still running, Dark Spine Aero is on a rampage, and our sweet Tambourine has gone off the deep end with a maniacal controller of time and darkness. What could possibly make this whole thing worse? Well, stay tuned for the update. I'll try not to let the babysitting get the best of me.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Scheming with a Shadow Cast**

_Quick Note: From now on, scene transitions will be represented by (…) Alright? Thank you. Enjoy the reading._

Eyes opening wide, the wolf we know as Nocturn found himself laying in bed with nothing but white. White. White. And did I forget to mention white? So he took in his rather monochrome surroundings and then saw that it was a hospital bed. It became obvious when he heard that annoying beeping sound next his bed. With an attempt to sit up, Nocturn found out that he was incredibly sore and covered in a number of stitches that itched like hell.

"Good, you're awake.", Tails said while standing next to the wolf, holding a clip board.

Nocturn looked at the kitsune and asked, "What am I doing here, and why are you being a doctor?"

"In this order. You were shot a lot by Eggman, and the other question is that I am filling in for the new doctor that will be coming in soon.", Tails replied while checking Nocturn's vitals.

Nocturn rolled his eyes before looking to the side and seeing a feline that was out cold and a purple hedgehog that was sitting by her side. With a raised eye brow he asked, "Were those the kids we saved?"

"Yup. Their names are Fuego and Shine. We also saved Silver, but he is in a different room. He's recovering from a sickness that comes with being suddenly awakened from the pod.", Tails responded while tapping Fuego's shoulder, "Excuse me. I must check her vitals."

"Will she be okay?", Fuego asked while gulping and his ears drooping down.

Tails nodded with a smile, "She'll be fine. She was hit on the head and just needs some sleep. Nothing more, nothing less."

Fuego sighed with relief and smiled before looking to Nocturn, "You helped keep Nega distracted long enough for them to save us. Thank you, sir."

"Hey, I work for a living. Don't call me sir.", Nocturn joked before reaching out and patting Fuego on the head.

Fuego's cheeks puffed and he moved his head away from the wolf's hand. He cleared his throat and said, "Nocturn, correct? Well, I am Pri-... Um... Fuego."

Nocturn shrugged from the stammering that he was listening to, "Yeah, I hear ya. I am sorry about your friend there."

"Actually... she's my sister.", Fuego pointed out.

Nocturn and Tails looked at each other before looking at the sibling and being utterly confused It wasn't that long a pause, but it was still awkward. Fuego shuffled his feet a little before sitting on the other side of the bed to keep an eye on Shine. Tails kept looking at them and thinking there was something very familiar about the siblings. The quills and body structure said enough to him. His eyes widened before he asked, "Fuego... who are your parents if you have any?"

"Uh...", Fuego thought a moment and began to wonder if the parents he had are in this world or not. He decided now would be a good time to take a leap of faith. With a deep breath, he looked to the kitsune and said, "Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat."

Tails gulped a little before looking at Shine and Fuego from a little distance back. The more steps he took, the more of a resemblance he saw between these two and Silver and Blaze. He walked to Nocturn and whispered as quietly as he could, "They seem a little... older to be their kids. I mean, for them to be their children, Silver and Blaze would have been like... ten or something."

"You think I don't know that?", Nocturn asked sarcastically, but hiding his surprise, "Ask them some questions when you can."

Tails gulped before he heard the groaning of the white feline beginning to wake up. He walked over to her and asked, "Feeling okay there, miss?"

Shine's eyes slowly opened and she saw the kitsune before asking, "Uncle Tails?"

Fuego face palmed as Tails began to sweat quite a bit before taking a deep breath and saying, "I understand your parents are Blaze and Silver... tell me, where are you from?"

Shine looked from Fuego to Tails and realized she wasn't in her home like before. The problem was, she already spoke too much and she looked like an idiot. With a sigh she said, "We're from... another world if that makes sense."

"... That actually does make sense.", Tails began before taking a seat, "Because Fuego said your parents are Silver and Blaze. Now, the thing about that is that they sort of already have a kid. She doesn't really look a lot like you."

Shine was rather shocked by this and her ears drooped, "So we don't exist here?"

"You do now, just not with yourselves if there is. Well, before I get ahead of myself, describe the world you come from and who you know are from there.", Tails said while quickly taking out a note book and a pen.

Fuego looked at Shine and nodded slowly, before taking his sister's hand. Shine cleared her throat and began her tale. She started with the story that her mother had told her many times when she was young. About how the king took Blaze in, raised her, and how their parents met. She gave the names, their role in the world, and though the story was long, she kept going until she got to her part, "And so, we were sent through the portal and we ended up here. But not before we heard something like glass break and pieces of our world flying around us and disappearing."

Tails studied the notes carefully and even began to chew on the pen while he was processing the information given. He looked to the duo and said, "Well, from what I have here, you are from another dimension, but it was very similar to our own. I got that just fine. But the fact that that dimension was shattered when you left, that tells me one thing."

"What exactly?", Fuego asked.

"Well, let's say that every dimension of course has their own barrier of course. But now, let's pretend it is like a muscle. You see, the muscle needs to be exercised so that it can handle the stress and strain of travel, and existence. Where you were from, you guys must not have had it's barriers penetrated as often as like ours has.", Tails explained while quickly doodling an illustration on the note book, "It couldn't handle the stress of being torn open. So, when you did so, it was like glass. Make a large enough crack and it breaks. Or in the muscle example, it was over exerted and it was destroyed."

Shine covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping out loud. She then looked at her bed sheets, "You mean... that my home..."

"I'm afraid so... When it shattered and no one else went through, you became the last survivors, and here you are.", Tails sighed sadly, "And I guess you ended up here. A dimension that is similar in many ways to your own, but you don't have doubles here as most would expect. That I don't understand why, but it could do be because of that light you mentioned."

"Yeah... the one that told us not to be afraid. What was that?", Fuego asked.

Tails gave a simple shrug, "It beats me. I just know that what ever it was, made you come to this one instead of another. It's no coincidence... it could be that you are needed here."

Shine asked, "Needed? How?"

"Most likely for the same reason we are looking for others like you. Not from other dimensions, but with gifts like you. I know who will explain this easier. Tails, could you bring Jasper in here?", Nocturn asked with a grunt from feeling he has moved in his bed a little too much.

Tails nodded, "I'll be right back. He's actually been sitting in the waiting room to find out if you two were okay.", he then got up and walked out the door to leave them in peace. As soon as he got into the waiting room, he saw the gold furred echidna pacing back and forth the room, "Jasper. They are okay you know."

"They are? Oh thank goodness. I mean, they have the same aura as me and the others. If they are who we are looking for, then all we need to do is find the one of water, right?", Jasper asked while walking up to Tails with an eager face.

Tails rubbed the back of his head and nodded, "Yup. Now, come on. They need your help understanding what's going on. But before you do, know that they aren't from this world."

"What do you mean?", Jasper asked before being handed the note book. He slowly scanned the contents and was shocked by what was in it. Page after page of this other world. A king named Sonic, and so much more. He kept reading and got to the end that lead this Princess and Prince of that world to here and he just stared at Tails, "They are seriously from there?"

Tails nodded, "Yup. Don't worry much of the details, especially since their world doesn't exist anymore. This one is their home now. And you say they are like you?"

Jasper nodded, "Yeah. They got the same aura as the others I met."

"_Chaos... why have you done this?_", Tails thought to himself before leading Jasper into the room with Shine and the others. He was surprised to see them all playing a little game of poker on the little night table.

"I can't believe this. I'm losing to a cat.", Nocturn said while folding for the third time they have played.

Fuego looked at his sister and asked, "Are you just this lucky?"

"To be honest, I don't know.", Shine said while showing her hand. Royal Flush. After that, she pulled out her jewel that she had been carrying and kissed it gently, "Maybe it is luck."

Jasper looked at the gem and blinked a few times before looking at his shield. At the center of the shield was a crystal that was similar to the one she was holding. In fact, they were exactly the same down to the last detail. He put his shield away when he remembered what he read in the note book and coughed a little to make his presence known. The moment Shine and Fuego looked at him, he was surprised to see that the feline was every bit surprised to see him as anyone could be, "Um, hello. I'm Jasper. I was one of the people who rescued you two back at Nega's base."

"Jasper...", Shine muttered while staring. She wasn't actually expecting to see the echidna that she grew up with, but quickly remembered that he looked, sounded, and sure was Jasper. Just not the Jasper she knew, "I thank you very much for saving my brother and I. I guess Tails told you about us then?"

"Yeah. I read his notes. So you are a Princess from another dimension. Kind of like Blaze, but you are also her daughter and you are stuck here because your world was destroyed?", Jasper asked to make the point clear.

Both sibling nodded and smiled sheepishly. Jasper took a seat in front of the bed and sighed, "The Queen is going to love this. Since you are the children of her in another world, I wonder how she will handle this."

"She's here?", Shine asked, her tail sticking out in surprise.

Nocturn looked and laughed, "Don't get excited kid. She is a very busy person, and finding Silver has made her worried."

"I hope he is okay...", Fuego muttered, "Will we be able to meet them though? Please?"

Tails nodded with a smile, "Naturally. The both of you will see them, Just as soon as Shine is all better. Now, we would like to share something with you, seeing as Jasper tells me you are similar to him."

"Similar? How?", Fuego asked.

Jasper rubbed the back of his head, "Tell me. When you look at me do you see a special kind of aura?"

Shine blinked a few times while looking at Jasper, "Well... yeah, but I thought it was because I was hit on the head."

"That's all I need to know. You are like me. You two are Children of the Elements like me.", Jasper began before clearing his throat, "Chaos himself chose six elements and some thing to bind them. He passed on this power to children because they would use it for reasons that were good. As generations passed, so did the power. Just not to offspring. They were passed by who Chaos chose."

"What... you mean...", Shine listened to this and thought back to what the voice said when they were passing through the tunnel of light, "Children of Fire and Light... that was Chaos who spoke to us?"

Jasper chuckled and nodded, "Yes. When he chooses, or when the child realizes they have been chosen, he will speak to them and unlock their potential enough so they can feel it. But, it is when all seven of us come together that we unleash our full power in times of crisis. And as you can imagine, we have a bit of a crisis."

"Sunder and Berg?", Shine asked, remembering the conversation that she, Fuego and..., "Wait! Where's Aero?"

"Who?", Jasper asked.

Shine looked around frantically, "Aero. He's a hedgehog with white and blue fur. Has quills that kind of point up and was with Sunder."

"You know that hedgehog?", Jasper asked, standing up, "He's been causing problems. He laid waste to many cities in the northern territory. Even though Sunder and Berg are gone, the sun still won't shine and we are stuck dealing with him."

"He did it because if he didn't, Eggman would have hurt us. He did it to protect me.", Shine shouted at the echidna.

Jasper crossed his arms, "Either way. He wasn't found."

Fuego sighed in some relief, "He wasn't with Sunder. Maybe he'll look for us?"

"Maybe, Fuego.", Shine said while looking down, "Maybe."

Tails cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention, "Everyone needs their rest. Jasper, I'll be their doctor until the new one comes in."

Jasper nodded and walked out to let them get their rest.

(…)

Shadow was standing on top of a tower at the GUN base. He saw gray clouds as far as the eye could see. He had finished his recovery from fighting that strange hedgehog that looked like him. Since then, he didn't dare move from his post, if you could call it that. He closed eyes to try and remember what he could. He remembered infiltrating the Eggfort to take out his defenses in the arctic. Then he remembered taking on some old bird. After a few fights, he blacked out for no reason. When he woke up, he was being burned in another battle with a demented hedgehog that looked eerily similar to him. Just what the hell was going on? He kept processing each scene before he heard a rather familiar voice come from behind him.

"I thought I'd find you up here, Shadow.", Rouge cooed from behind while sitting next to where he was standing.

"Hmph. I just needed to clear my head and get away from orders they were going to shove down my throat.", Shadow grunted while opening only one eye in her direction.

Rouge shrugged, "I don't blame you. If I'd been asleep for as long as you were and then waking up to be burned and messed with, I'd have the same disposition."

"Second time I was put in suspended animation. Granted, not as long, but it gets old after the first time.", Shadow remarked while looking to the gray sky again, "I guess Sonic and Silver never got a chance to fix it in my absence."

"They were in the same position as you. Or, at least Silver was. Blaze's branch of the Freedom Fighters already have him as well as a couple of those kids of the elements.", Rouge pointed out while waving a finger, "Thing is, I thought that when Sunder and Berg disappeared, this planet would have it's normal weather again. The entire world is still covered in gray clouds, and natural habitats are slowly dying."

Shadow opened both his eyes and growled, "That must mean there is something worse than the Eggmen and those birds out there. What ever it is, I'll stop it. Kids or no kids."

"Don't be that way, Shadow. We know you can take on Eggman and Nega all on your own, but we need help with what ever is now causing this mess. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can eliminate the problem. The Emeralds, the Children, and Sonic will help. We just need t find them.", Rouge sighed while standing up as well, "And we know it will be hard. Eggman and Nega are probably at different bases and forming an alliance to put an end to the kids and you."

"To me, it won't matter as long as I can put an end to this.", Shadow muttered and crossed his arms before sitting on the ground with his legs crossed as well.

Rouge looked at the hedgehog and felt like giving him a good hit on the head for being stubborn, but she just sat with him and put an arm on his shoulder, "Shadow, please... you need help, and so do the others. I know GUN works at an angle to make things go on their terms, but let's be honest, we both don't agree with their orders all the time."

"I know. And they just want me to be a secret weapon. Thing is, I'm not a secret to the Doctors. So, if you want me to go against GUN, and help the Freedom Fighters, that is something you don't need to ask twice.", Shadow responded, "I just want to have a second round with that hedgehog."

(…)

Akira was taking a little bit of his frustrations on the pavement by skating up and down streets and grinding on rails. He couldn't stand the thought of having one of his own not only missing, but it felt like she was in pain. He had rolled up the sleeves on his strait jacket to gain better balance while skating through the streets. Sure, he looked strange because every one seemed to use Extreme Gear, but he didn't like the thought of losing his connection to the ground unless he was jumping from one spot to the next. The sound of his skates revving in the air was unbelievably loud due to requiring a few repairs. He was about half way down another street before he found himself in front of Ventuss. She was sitting one a small tornado with her legs crossed and a stern look, "Akira. You shouldn't be out here."

"I am worried, okay? What if Tambourine is out there and getting hurt. I don't care what those guys said about finding the ashes of Sunder and Berg. The fact that Pryxo is gone too is enough to make me worry about Tambourine.", Akira mumbled before looking up at the green hedgehog.

Ventuss pat the lizard's head and smiled, "I'm worried too. We can't assume the worst just yet. Come on. Espio was looking for us. He wanted us to be with him when Luna opened the box with Pryxo's papers."

Akira blinked and looked at the hedgehog with a little bit of surprise, "I almost forgot... alright. But, something as important as that means that-"

"That's right. Sally will be there too. Come on, I'll race you there.", Ventuss said before using her little tornado to fly off through the streets. She was careful not to hit any civilians.

Akira smirked and revved his skates before racing after her, "You're on!"

After a few minutes of passing through streets and alleys, they arrived at the castle that they were to stay in. Luna was tapping her foot while waiting for the two of them, "You guys are late. I had to keep the Princess waiting."

Akira and Ventuss looked at each other before kneeling before the Princess. Sally looked at the two and said, "You don't need to do that. As flattering as it is, we have a crisis. We don't need formalities. Now, Luna. Shall we have a look in that box?"

Luna nodded before undoing the latch and slowly opening it. It was filled with news clippings of another language from another part of the globe. Other papers seemed to be translations of each clipping, all stacked to mirror one another. It was the pictures that seemed to strike Sally's nerve. She picked up the clipping and then stared at it. Though it was blurry, the image was unmistakable, "That can't be right... I am sure that Sonic took care of this one years ago."

"What is that thing?", Akira asked, looking over Sally's shoulder to get a peak at the picture.

Luna had carried one of her books on her with in a bag and pulled it out to look at the picture and compare it to a painting in the book. She gulped before she said, "Chaos..."

"But that can't be right. He is with in the Master Emerald. What is he doing in the Ocean Kingdom?", Sally asked while looking at the papers that contained the translations for the clippings. They all said the same thing. When ever someone tried to swim to the trenches that lay below, the ships and subs were brought to shore with in the jaws and tentacles of a liquid creature with piercing green eyes.

"Why would this be a clue to the Child of Water?", Luna asked while looking through each translation carefully, "Trench... and this creature...", she kept reading over this while Sally was explaining how Chaos was involved in the near destruction of the world. Perfect Chaos, anyway.

Luna kept taking notes before she noticed a pattern. The clippings claimed that the survivors were taking their subs to the trench and passed a series of caves along the walls of the darkness below. After that, a flash and their machines were taken up to the surface, and then destroyed there rather than destroyed at the bottom. Wouldn't a creature defending it's territory, especially a God, would crush the intruders and let the pressure down there do the work? She asked herself these questions before she looked to Sally, "Excuse me, do we have a means to travel underwater?"

"Well, Rotor has been working on such a means. He admits that he would like help from Tails, but we will need to have him transported here.", Sally sighed, "And that means I need to talk this over with Blaze..."

"Do you and Blaze have a problem with one another?", Ventuss asked.

Sally crossed her arms, "We may have a few disagreements with matter of where she is from and that she is taking residence in this world due to the lack of her own. She still has people who follow her and see her as a ruler, but her world doesn't exist, so it shouldn't be a matter at all."

Luna had a sweat drop from embarrassment and shook her head before saying, "Look, your personal opinions shouldn't get in the way of what is good for your kingdom. Alright? We need to save this world and to do that, we got to find the Child of Water. I have a feeling he or she is hiding in one of the caves inside the trenches."

"Down there?", Akira asked while looking at the clippings, "You can keep me out of that one. I'm a land reptile thank you."

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Akira. We need to find this person. And find out what this Chaos stuff is all about.", Ventuss noted while looking to Sally, "Ummm... you sent a team to investigate the site where Pryxo and the others fought, right?"

"Yes.", Sally replied, "And before you ask, no. We didn't find any sign of Tambourine. Vector and Charmy only found ashes, wet soil from snow, scorch marks from flame and lightning, and finally a strange broken collar that was lying on the ground."

Akira looked down after hearing that. Though it couldn't be heard out loud, his other half was laughing at him in his head. Raving on about falling and simply that he should come out for a word or two. Akira ignored it and went out for a ride in the city again. This time, Ventuss didn't go after him. She was just as worried and sad as he was. With a look of depression, she said, "I'm going to fly around for a little, okay?"

"Alright, just remember that Pryxo... still wants me to train you guys...", Luna said while putting the papers away and taking the box with her to her room.

(…)

In the jungles of the Mystic Ruins, we find a rather irritated Nega taking a small ship to a base that belongs to his alternate double, Robotnik. He knew what was going to happen the moment he flew into the hanger bay, but he was prepared for it. He needed assistance, and so did Robotnik. The loss of their generals, Emeralds, and both losing a trophy each made it worse. The hanger opened up to let the doctor in, with the other doctor waiting out in the open. As soon as the little transportation parked in the hanger, the doctor floated out on his pod. Both looked at one another before Robotnik asked, "So, it has come to this, has it?"

"Yes. Two rivals in intelligence are joining forces to ensure an empire rises from what ever we destroy on this planet.", Nega began while shaking his head, "Though, with Sunder and Aero out of commission, we need to find those Chaos Emeralds."

"Like I need to be reminded about that by you.", Robotnik scoffed while pushing a button, "Luckily, thanks to both of our failures, we obtained something far superior."

A platform opened up to let a familiar blue figure appear. It wasn't our furry hero though. It was the machine that enjoyed being his copy. Nega looked at the robot and noticed the sleeker appearance. Five quills instead of three, body armor that was on his shoulder, knees, legs, you get the idea. There were white streaks on the quills that made his appearance similar to Shadow. To go with his sudden body structure change, he wore a waist cape along with his belt. Nega almost dropped his jaw when he saw the new and improved form of Metal Sonic, "H-how? When? I thought he was reduced to slag."

"Well, as it turned out, a good enough amount of Chaos Energy was released into his core. Thanks to that energy, he was able to repair his damage and take on this form again.", Robotnik explained, "The difference is that he will listen to me this time and not try to rebel. Isn't that right, Metal?"

"Yes, doctor.", Metal Sonic replied with a more smooth voice. It was a robotic imitation voice of Sonic.

Nega chuckled, "Well, and the fact that you have Sonic makes it better?", he floated around the metallic hedgehog to look at every aspect of the form.

"Well, that is the problem. I don't have the materials to make another collar for him. So we are with Metal for now. Luckily, he will make finding the Emeralds we need that much easier.", Robotnik noted while looking to Metal Sonic, "Metal Sonic, I command you to go out and search where ever in the world for Chaos Emeralds. If it is in a heavily populated area, report back."

Metal Sonic faced Robotnik and processed the order as though the words were flying in front of his eyes and then nodded, "As you command, Doctor.", he quickly ran out of the hanger with speed that was every bit that of Sonic's.

Nega watched and couldn't help but laugh, "This is interesting. They get rid of one terror on the world, and another one unleashes itself to replace it."

"Oh, but that's the thing. I'm not responsible for this giant shadow on the world.", Robotnik began, "I thought it was you."

"No... I thought it was you...", Nega said with some confusion.

The two looked at each other and shrugged before going to the control room to work on an army of robots that they were going to share with one another.

(…)

A dead forest. All the trees have no leaves, and the natural animals that lived there are hiding somewhere to keep safe from the sinister being that was in the area. On a hill where, there was a clearing, an echidna stood with her head to the sky. Her eyes closed as she felt the still air and the lack of sun become apparent. She moved her hands to the air as a voice in her head began to speak, "_Spread __my shadow across the world, and let these creatures experience despair._"

The echidna nodded as darkness came out of her hands and filled the sky as though they were clouds. Her fur was black and she had metal in her hair that when they collided, made a pleasant chiming sound. She wore a violet leather pant suit, gloves of the same color with a black stripe on each, a black vest that matched her fur, and metal armbands. To compliment the bands and the metal that is natural in her hair, she wore a metal bracelet and garter belt. She put her hands down and then opened her eyes. One was blue while the other was a reptilian kind of green as she said, "The sinners of this world will face my darkness and pay for the pain I felt."

"_Naturally, Tambourine. Soon to be Queen of Darkness. But this doesn't end here. We must purge the world of the sinners by our own hands as well._", the voice explained, "_You see, you aren't the only one wronged._"

"Who has wronged you, Mephiles?" Tambourine asked while walking down the hill and passing the village she once called home. The entire village was destroyed.

She passed the corpse of the residence of the village. Women, children, warriors, clan leaders, and especially the young males that had ruined her life. As she passed them, she couldn't help but laugh, especially at the corpse of her own step mother. The voice of Mephiles was heard at last, "_Shadow the Hedgehog. He is my target, but I want you to get stronger before we take him on. He isn't as easy to fight as simple echidnas._"

Tambourine closed her eyes and smiled to herself, "Shadow the Hedgehog... I'll remember that name. But first, I want to take on that hedgehog that killed Pryxo. And from there, I'll see what I can do."

"_Keep in mind, there will be those who will be against you every step of the way._", Mephiles began while taking his strange from in her shade, "_The Freedom Fighters may fight to take out the Eggmen, but they often save the sinners. And protect them too. They will stop you from purging the world, so you must be ready to fight against them._"

Tambourine opened her eyes to look at Mephiles before giggling, "Oh, they can't hurt me. They need me after all. They'll look for me so that they can have me be with the others. I see no interest in them at all."

"_But if they fight you, you will fight back with out any question?_", Mephiles asked while returning to the shadow as nothing more.

Tambourine kept walking while thinking of the training she went through with Akira and Ventuss. They laughed together and had a good time. She felt like family with them. But she still wanted her vengeance and knew they would get in the way. She whispered softly, "If they get in my way, I will not show any mercy."

**Author's Note**

**Well, I was over due for on an update, and I must say that this isn't the best chapter. Yes, I keep leaving questions instead of answers, but I'm sure this story will have it's revelations soon. Also, I would like to take it to a vote on who wants spin offs or not. You see, I was thinking of making a collection of one shots that spoke of the origins of each character in my story. Like Tambourine, Ventuss, and all the others. Give a detailed back story of what they did and such before these events. Shine and Fuego's are already written. So it should stand to reason that I would do an origin story for each of them. Tell me what you guys think along with the review. I hope my writing is improving some what. Enjoy life everyone!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Movement in the Dark**

It was the day after Shine had woken from her sleep and she was feeling the need to walk about. So, she and Fuego decided to split up for a little and explore the grounds of the Freedom Fighter base. Of course, Shine had her own reasons for wanting to split up. She wanted time to herself to think about how the conversation between her and Blaze would go. Especially since this Blaze may not even believe that in another world, she was her mother. All of this was so very confusing and it gave Shine the biggest head ache she had in a while. With out realizing it, she walked into the garden. This was a little strange, because there was nothing alive out there that she had seen. Of course, that question wasn't going to linger in her mind forever, for she enjoyed the sight and scents of the many plants that grew in there.

She felt the necklace in her pocket before she could kneel down and inhale the aroma of the wild lilies. After taking in the scent, she looked at the necklace and took a deep breath while looking at the tear-drop shaped crystal. The last gift she ever received from her best friend. Tears formed in her eyes as she took her other hand and gently stroked the smooth and finely made gem. She then sat on one of the stone benches and stared into the crystal, thinking back to her childhood. For once, she regretted her need for freedom. If she could, she would have gone back to her world, remain in hiding, and would have enjoyed the morning sun rises with Jasper again, "Oh, Jasper... I miss you so much..."

"Excuse me? Did you say my name?", a familiar voice said in front of her.

A shocked Shine blinked before looking up at her best friend there and now. But, she quickly remembered where she was and looked back down at her crystal, "No..."

"Oh, you mean the other one where you are from, right?", Jasper asked before taking a seat next to the ivory feline he was only wearing half of his armor. One arm was armed, his legs were armored as well, but he left his torso exposed as well as half of his face. Half of a knight's helm was lazily pulled up and resting on his face.

"Yeah... I miss him. He was my best friend...", Shine explained while wiping the tears from her eyes.

The golden echidna dug into his pocket pulled out a handkerchief, "Here, use this."

The feline looked at the token of concern and smiled faintly before taking it and wiping her eyes. Despite the fact that this Jasper is of a different world that she was accustomed to, she felt there was some similarities to this and her Jasper. A blush formed on her cheeks when she realized she though 'her' Jasper. The echidna stared at him with some confusion before asking, "Well, I read that notebook over and over, but... I thought that maybe hearing it from you may help me understand it better."

"Well, alright. What ever questions you have, I'll answer, but only if you do the same for me. There is so much I don't understand here.", Shine said to the knight and looked around, "Such as, if the world's plants and forests are dying, how are there lush gardens like this one?"

Jasper took a moment to answer that one because he didn't quite understand the details himself. So, he used what basic facts he could remember. With a smile, he said, "Well, what ever rare plants, as well those of the common variety have been protected by special domes. In these domes, they put lamps to mimic the sun light and we keep them all safe until we can clear the skies. There are tons of these domes all across the world."

Shine seemed a little lost in thought from hearing his words. She envisioned many ivory domes that had giant orbs inside of them with trees and flowers that were similar to the ones she was looking at and smiled in her little fantasy. She knew it wouldn't be much for the whole world, but every little bit counts, "That is actually interesting."

"Thanks. Now, it's your turn to tell me something. In your world, you say that Sonic was a king, and step father to your mother, correct?", Jasper asked.

She nodded her response, "Exactly. My mother told me that she was taken in by Sonic and Sally. From then on, she was raised as a princess and eventually came to marry my father, Silver."

"I see, but, this is so different from that world. Especially since in here, they two aren't that far apart in years and have been allies in combat. But, I am getting ahead. It's your question now.", Jasper stated with a smile. A twinkle of interest could be seen in his eyes.

Shine rubbed the back of her head and then asked, "What am I, exactly? You guys say Children of the Elements, but we aren't from this world."

"Well, in this world, Chaos created ten agents that were to help him and the world. Three of those agents were the birds, Berg, Sunder, and Pryxo. You know them already. The other seven were known as Children of the Elements. They each controlled one Element except for one, who was meant to be a catalyst for them. Here, I what is known as the Binder. You, are the Child of Light, and your brother is of Fire.", Jasper explained before crossing his arms, "As for why you were chosen, but not of this world, I cannot answer that. You see, that is something only chaos himself can answer."

Shine's ears folded back a bit and she looked to her crystal once more while trying to seek comfort in it's beauty. Jasper looked at that crystal and then asked, "Tell me, who made that, and why does it look exactly like the one on my shield?", after asking, he pulled his shield from behind his back and lay it on his lap. He then pointed to the gem that lay in the center. Same shape, style, and detail. If it weren't for the fact that his was in the shield and her's was on a string for her to wear, she wouldn't have been able to tell which belonged to whom.

"W-well... it was a birthday gift. You see, Jasper... or rather, the Jasper from my world, gave it to me.", Shine said while stroking her gem again. All the tears she had before were coming back again, "I grew up with him he was always there for me. When I was sad, hurt, or even just lonely, he would always be there to make me smile again. He was my best friend."

Jasper looked at the cat and shook his head while smiling, "Shine, I think you are lying."

"What? What do you mean... lying?", Shine asked while looking at the echidna with disbelief at his words.

"Well, I have had many friends. Each who had died, or gotten hurt. But the ones that die, I never cried unless the didn't deserve it. The ones that got hurt, I knew they would be okay. You are crying because he is gone, but you sound as though he wasn't sad that he was gone. So, I believe that he was more than a friend to you.", Jasper stated before smiling at the now awe struck feline, "So, how's my aim?"

Shine could only stare at him with awe, but she also quickly began to get angry and she took her right hand that didn't have the crystal and then slapped Jasper across his cheek, "Don't go thinking that you know me. You may look, sound, and are Jasper in every way... but... but... you're not my Jasper!", she covered her mouth when she realized what she said, and then looked at an unsurprised Jasper as he rubbed the red mark she left.

"That was the appropriate response, Shine.", Jasper said with a smile, "don't be afraid to let everything out, okay?"

Shine couldn't help but cry as she put her arms around the echidna and cried against his chest. This echidna was in every way the Jasper she knew, but she was never in his life until now. She wished she could go back to the Jasper she knew and tell him how she feels now, and that she was sorry for not saying it sooner. But she knew that would never happen. Her tears soaked the knight's fur, but he didn't move. All he did was stroke her back as he sobbed on her. With a sad smile, he understood her pain. Granted, not first hand, but her story is enough to move anyone to tears. Shine finished crying and sat back up, using the handkerchief to wipe the tears, "Jasper, thank you..."

"No, you don't need to. As a knight, it is my duty to ensure the safety and happiness of everyone.", Jasper said with a smile before saying, "Now, that's one thing out of the way, you got to deal with Blaze and Silver."

"Blaze you mean. Silver isn't awake yet.", Shine said while rubbing her arm nervously.

Jasper shook his head, "That is where you are wrong, my feline friend. He's awake now. That's why I'm here. I came looking for you so you could go see him. Fuego is already there and probably speaking to him."

Shine gulped and nodded, "Then I better go... um... Jasper, could you come with me?"

The knight made a nod before standing up and extending a hand politely to her, "I shall be your escort for the day."

The young feline giggled happily and took his hand before getting up and walking with him through the base to find her father... or, at least the other father.

(…)

The ivory hedgehog was just staring at the purple hedgehog with disbelief. Not because of what he said, but because of where he was from, all that happened in that world based on the books that the little one read, and how it just came to an end. Of course, that wasn't the only surprise. Earlier, when he had woken up, he got to see Blaze and was happy. Yes, he was confused and a little weak, but he still managed to smile at the princess that he swore to protect with his life. And the added surprise to it was that their child had grown so fast, or rather, he was gone long enough for her to grow. But, that had all happened already. Blaze wasn't phased by the information that Fuego gave because she was briefed by Tails and knew it was fact when he presented the evidence.

"Okay... let me get this all straight. You are my son from another reality that was destroyed?", Silver asked, just for clarification.

Fuego nodded and looked to Blaze, "And she was my mother as well. The thing I am not quite understanding is that instead of Shine being born in this dimension, there is another girl that is your daughter."

"Tails told me the reason for that, but I'll explain in private.", Blaze stated, "Silver, are you okay with these facts?"

The little hedgehog that was about Fuego's age crawled to the bed and smiled at her father before hugging him, "I always wanted a brother and sister."

Silver took a moment to stare at the ceiling and take everything in. It was confusing, but it was also something he was willing to live with. Especially since now, he could say he has a full family. But, it wouldn't matter unless he fixed the world with everyone's help. He quickly opened his eyes and then saw that there was an ivory cat and standing next to a golden armored echidna. He stared at the duo, recognizing the echidna, but not the feline, "Well, I see Jasper has grown..."

"Hey, Da-... Silver. I guess my little brother already filled you in on our story?", Shine asked, holding tightly to her necklace in her hands.

Silver nodded slowly, and looked hard at Shine while looking at Fuego as well. Now that they were side by side, he could see they were related, and that they had strong resemblance to himself and Blaze. Shine has Blaze's figure, and seemed to have the same calm face. Fuego, thought altered, looked very much like him. After noting the similarities, he began to accept them as his children in another world and smiled, "You don't have to call me Silver. You can call me dad. I understand that your real father in your world is gone, but, every child needs parents."

Shine looked at him with shock. And although Fuego wanted to stay calm, he couldn't help but show the same shocked face. This news made a very happy little hedgehog girl run ti Fuego and Shine to give them hugs, "Yay! I got a brother and sister!"

Blaze took a seat by Silver and watched the trio share the hug, but tears were forming in their eyes, except for Venice's. She leaned to Silver and whispered, "Seems our family is growing a little unexpectedly."

"You know... I don't mind this. Yeah, it's confusing, but I meant what I said. No one deserves to go around with out a family. I just hope I can be a good father to Venice.", Silver said with sadness heavy in his voice and eyes, "I mean... put to cold sleep and then waking to see that years of my child's life were lived with out me... and you were left to raise her alone. I am so sorry."

"Silver, you are forgiven. It wasn't your fault.", Blaze replied while placing her hand on his.

The two looked at each other and shared smiles before opening their arms to the trio who had been watching and listening the whole time. Jasper only watched as the five of them embraced one another. Acceptance. That is why he smiled. He was praying to Chaos himself the whole time while listening and he is happy to see that this family, though strange as it looks, is going to be together for a very long time. He cleared his throat, "Ahem, come on. Let's let Silver get some rest. After all, we still have a crisis to attend to."

"Right, and I think my doctor has been kept waiting long enough. He's supposed to be drawing blood.", Silver said before giving his children kisses to the top of the head.

Shine welcomed her's happily with a purr while Fuego wiped the top of his head a little. His attempt at looking grown up for his age was getting ruined. Venice giggled after getting her kiss and then took her siblings by the hand and smiled, "Come on, let's go!"

They all left together with Jasper close behind to make sure they didn't do anything stupid. After they had gone, another cat entered the room with a smile. He wore a lab coat of course, seemed to have red fur, and other than that, he seemed normal. Except for something else that Blaze and Silver were having trouble placing. The two must have been staring because the doctor asked, "Excuse me, I know that I am unusual looking, but staring isn't necessary. I'll be up front about my appearance if you wish."

"Oh, we're sorry. Your name is...?", Blaze asked while rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed manner.

The feline took a bow, and they realized that his hair on his head wasn't spiky, it was all natural, but not hair. His fir wasn't fur either. His muzzle, ears, tail, and skin might have been feline, but the rest wasn't, "My name is Chimera. As for the strangeness of my fur, you see, it isn't fur. Rather, it is feathers."

Silver blinked and actually found that a little strange. Not enough to feel disgusted as most would have responded, but rather in a curious way, "That is rather unique. Hehe, and sorry for the staring. I have never met a cat with feathers is all."

"It's no problem, sir. Believe me, no one has. But, I know one thing is certain. I am your doctor, and half-breed or not, I am here to do a job. Stick out your arm please?", Chimera asked while holding out a needle.

Silver didn't complain and did as he was told. The whole time, Chimera was silent before finally asking, "Tell me, have you seen a wolf?"

"Hmmm... the only one I know is Nocturn. He's in a different level of the base. Probably walking and trying to do his duty by now.", Blaze answered while remaining seated.

Chimera nodded and looked at the blood in the tubes before setting them on a tray for his test, "I see. Well, I need to run a check on him as well. Other than the fact that you had a sickness before, you seem all fine now, Silver. You may even go back to being a hero in the morning."

Silver chuckled, "I don't know about hero, but I do plan on being out and about once again. I'll get caught up on current events, get some training, and then go out there and help with what ever I can."

Blaze nodded, "That is the hopeful plan. Good luck finding Nocturn, Chimera. And thank you."

(…)

On the GUN base, Shadow had been waiting at the front for one of the Freedom Fighters to come for their questions. Though, he was tired of being asked about the situation, he knew it wouldn't end. And his searches for that other hedgehog was proving to be fruitless. He closed his eyes to think back a little further and remember exactly what the hedgehog looked like. Purple fur... red highlights... and...

"Excuse me, Shadow. I'm here for those questions.", A familiar voice asked.

Shadow opened his eyes to see Amy Rose. The pink hedgehog had grown quite a bit since he last saw her. She carried her hammer on her back and her dress went down more rather than look like a big ballerina type of dress. Shadow nodded and composed himself, "Fire away, but I get the feeling that your questions are already answered based on what GUN told your Freedom Fighters."

"Do you remember seeing Sonic?", Amy asked while looking hopeful. And keeping her hands behind her back nervously.

Shadow actually had to stop and open his eyes. He had been asked tons of questions, but never did he once hear a single one about Sonic or Silver for that matter. With a sigh, he looked to the pink hedgehog and shook his head, "No."

Amy slowly walked to the ebony blur and took a hold of his hand before placing a communicator in his palm, "If and when you find him... give me a call..."

"You'll be the first to know.", Shadow replied while looking at the communicator and then looking to the horizon. He was going to start looking there for the other hedgehog, but now he had another to keep an eye out for.

Amy let his hand go and then nodded, "You better contact me... I want... to see him, you hear me!", she asked while some tears formed in her eyes.

The Ultimate life form only turned his back on her and began to skate away. He left the pink hedgehog completely in his dust. She covered her eyes to watch him go and then she turned away and found the jeep that was waiting for her. A young rabbit was inside and was looking at a tiny screen that could have been compared to a portable video game. The rabbit looked up at her pink companion and asked, "It works, just like Tails said. We can track him anywhere."

"That's good, Cream. If he does find Sonic, we will know at least.", Amy said before taking a seat in the jeep.

Cream looked to her older friend and asked, "Will we have to tell Sally?"

"We have to... but... I don't want to. I'd rather just find Sonic and then see what happens from there.", Amy sighed before starting the jeep and driving towards Sally's base.

(…)

The black blur continued to skate on, thinking as hard as he could to see if he could remember something about Sonic, but he couldn't. He then felt something strange coming from the west. Something disturbing in his mind. What ever it was, it was familiar in a painful way. He sensed... anger. With a determined look, he skated faster towards the source of the power, passing cities, villages, and a number of dying jungles and such. He finally arrived in the front of a mouth of a cave. Looking into the cave, he could see a faint red glowing at the end of the tunnel, but the rage, surprisingly was dying down.

Soon, he got to the source of the glow and looked to see a hedgehog that looked similar to him. Though, for some reason, the quills on the bottom of his head pointed down in a manner that reminded him of Silver. The streaks of blue seemed jagged, and looking now, he could see damage to the right ear of the hedgehog. He knew who it was and clenched his fists so hard that he almost destroyed the communicator.

"If you have come to take my life, then you may.", the hedgehog said while looking up at the ebony look-a-like.

"Believe me, it's taking a lot for me not to destroy you.", Shadow said, "I only want to know who you are."

The hedgehog didn't dare to move. His energy was severely drained and he almost went into shock from the loss. With calm in his voice, he replied, "It's Aero. Prototype to the Ultimate Life Form."

Shadow was ready to send a Chaos Spear his way before he heard that last part, "That can't be right."

"Believe what you will, Shadow the Hedgehog. I am your prototype and that is that.", Aero said while shaking a little, "I don't suppose you got a fire on you, or maybe some Chaos Emerald?"

Shadow looked at his white and blue doppelganger and tried to process what he was saying. The prototype thing made sense, other wise, Shadow would have been able to shrug off what ever happened to him with out an issue. He held only one Chaos Emerald behind his back, and that was the one he managed to escape with. With an emotionless expression, he asked, "Why do you need this?"

"To replenish. That, and if I don't have it, I'll go into a seizure and from the lack of energy and over use of my power.", Aero said while beginning to breathe more heavily.

The ebony hedgehog detected no lies, but that didn't mean he dropped his grudge towards his attacker. So, with caution, he held the Chaos Emerald to the injured hedgehog's head and let the energy flow into him. The ivory hedgehog gave a sigh as he relaxed more and his breathing began to steady, "Much better... not battle ready, but it will do. Why did you help me?"

"I believe in completely destroying my opponent in either a fair or unfair fight. However, it sounds like you got some information on the project responsible for my creation.", Shadow replied before pulling the emerald back, "So, care to share a story with me?"

Aero chuckled weakly, "Do I have a choice?", he sat up straight and then started to explain his tale to his dark counterpart. Starting with his creation and what he remembered. Then, he filled in the blanks of his past with the information he received from Nega. The file said that he had lost control and ended the lives of scientists. From there, he was subdued and put away in suspended animation. The details were a little disturbing about how he responded while in this Dark Spine form, but it wasn't enough to affect Shadow, "So, that's it. Then, I wake in this time and damaged world and work for Nega to make sure that my friends stay alive."

"I see. That is quite a tale. And, if you are correct, you are calm and won't go back in that form unless pushed hard enough.", Shadow said after thinking about the story and all it's contents, "But, you do know that no debt, or reason will ever justify the lives you took."

Aero looked to his feet and nodded slowly, "Yeah. I know.", he then looked Shadow in the eyes and said, "But, if it were someone you owed you life to, would you have been any different?"

Shadow was silent for the longest time because he actually knew that he would have done the same. A debt is a debt, and he understands that he must always pay in full one way or another. After thinking this over, "This person you owe, is he or she okay?"

"I don't know if they are safe or if they are still with Nega.", Aero explained before trying to stand. He was pushed back on his rear end by the black blur and stared down.

"I'll make this clear. We will find out if they are okay. And then, we are going to fix this crisis that doesn't seem to be improving, and then, when all this peace is done and over with, as well as your debt, I will make sure you pay for the lives lost.", Shadow said before offering his hand to help him up, "Is that understood, Prototype?"

Aero growled under his breath. He had a feeling that he was going to face death in the end, but he only muttered, "Understood, Final Product.", he then took his hand and stood up. The two looked at each other before walking out of the cave together. From there, they skated off in search of the Eggmen. Dealing with them was a first step. From there, who knows what would happen.

(…)

Tails was finishing uploading the blueprints to computer so that construction of a submarine could be started. His trip from one base to the other was a dull one, but it was well worth it. It was good to be back in Knothole. What he didn't like was having to listen to Sally start asking about how Blaze's area was like. If there was one thing he learned, it was that she became a little strange when she over for her father. He never answered the questions and merely got to business about the evidence. Soon after being informed, he got to work on a sub that could hold a good sized crew.

"How come you don't just borrow one from GUN?", Vector asked while walking into Tails' quarters.

Tails looked to the crocodile and shook his head, "I prefer working with a piece of equipment that I created. I get a better feel that way."

"Makes sense. So, how's Nocturn and the others?", Vector asked while taking a seat and watching the machines getting to work on the submarine's foundation.

Tails took a seat as well and replied, "They're doing fine. Not sure if Nocturn will be able to fight again. He took some heavy damage from Nega's guns."

"I feel sorry for everyone then. He likes fighting, and I don't think he's going to enjoy being told that he is now a retired veteran.", Vector said with a yawn, "Still, he could teach the new recruits a thing or two about combat."

"I know. So, aside from Sally still having issues with Blaze, what's been going on? How are the Children here?", Tails asked with a slight bit of curiosity.

Vector only looked over his shoulder and winked at Tails before he used his reptilian tail to slap a box out of the way to reveal the young hedgehog and lizard, "By all means, ask yourself."

Akira chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He was wearing some new clothes so he wouldn't be in the straitjacket the whole time. A black jacket, white shirt under it, and blue jeans that fit comfortably on him. Ventuss was still wearing her suit that she enjoyed wearing so that she could say she was a lawyer later. Together the duo waved and said, "Hey there."

"These guys are Ventuss and Akira? Well, they seem odd.", Tails said while laughing a little.

Vector shot Tails a coy look before saying, "Hey, keep in mind, you and I were odd at some point."

"We're right here, sirs.", Ventuss said while puffing her cheeks a little.

"Hey, I work for a living, so don't call me sir.", Vector replied while laughing.

Akira walked to the computer and looked at the picture of the sub and he was a little nervous while asking, "Um, do I really have to go with you guys?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to. It's probably going to be me, and a small team from both bases.", Tails explained, "Based on what Luna told of the information Pryxo left, the Child of Water may be down in those trenches and is responsible for the appearance of this Perfect Chaos fake."

"How are you sure it's fake?", Ventuss asked with a tilt of her head.

Tails pulled out a copy of the picture that Luna sent to him, but it was more enhanced so he could see what was in the creature, "Simple. See that part where it's brain is supposed to be visible?"

Akira and Ventuss were side by side and looking down at the picture with increased curiosity. They saw what looked like a brain, but it was transparent. Despite the enhanced picture, it was blurred. The duo could see a figure inside the brain. The arms seemed to be open as though it were controlling the creature, "Wait, I've seen the Perfect Chaos in pictures, but I never saw that little thing there before.", Ventuss gasped and pointed to the figure.

"Exactly.", Vector said and chuckled again, "It doesn't take a detective to figure that out. So, we're going to investigate the reason behind these attacks, get the Child of Water, and then get our rear ends out of there."

"You sound like you don't want to be there long.", Akira noted.

Vector shuddered, "I'll make it clear and simple. I'm a fresh water croc. Not a salt water croc."

"So, the big bad crocodile does have a problem with the ocean.", Tails said while laughing a little, "Just kidding. Alright, so now that we're clear on that, we need to hope that once we have assembled all of the Children of the Elements, and Chaos Emeralds, we can all finish this crisis off and live a happy life again."

"As long as I can help put Robotnik and Nega in jail for all they did, I'll be grateful.", Ventuss noted before something on her wrist went off. She pulled her sleeve back to reveal a little communicator, "I guess this works like a charm, Tails. This is Ventuss."

"Hey, Ven. It's Luna. Midnight came back from recon and he said he has seen a blue metal hedgehog roaming about. It was carrying Chaos Emeralds in it's hands. The count was three. I think the Eggmen may have outdone us in terms of power."

Tails' fur stood up on his tails and he spoke into Ventuss' communicator, "Luna, this is Tails. Are you sure that was a blue metal hedgehog and he was carrying three emeralds?"

"Midnight said he was positive. He was with Espio and they both confirmed it.", Luna replied in a voice that suggested she was scared, "I'm on my way to the construction room now. But, Midnight and Espio left again to see where the machine was heading."

Tails was tapping his foot in deep thought before asking, "Did you inform Blaze or Sally of this?"

"Not yet. Should I?", Luna asked, now she sounded closer and from the hallway.

Tails looked to the door and saw the halfbreed panting a little, "No. Let's wait till Espio and Midnight come back."

(…)

Sitting on the top of a building of Westopolis, Tambourine felt the wind blow through her hair. The feeling made her hair flow enough to make the metal hit one another and make a beautiful chiming noise. This noise once filled her childhood with dread, especially with her former tribe. Knowing that she would be heard and tormented. Called a freak. Called an abomination. Oh, such bitter memories, but she still smiled, knowing that the cause of those memories would forever sleep. Never to wake or hurt another ever again. She looked to the busy people that were in their vehicles, or walking, and carrying on with life as though there was nothing going on. Her smile became a little more sinister as she began to think how she could end their lives.

"Oh, you seem to be enjoying this, Tambourine.", Mephiles' voice said, more than just in her head, it was from her Shadow.

Tambourine looked to the two green eyes that stared at her in her shade while she said, "I am. The thought of ending a sinner's life is so amazing. Murderers, tormentors, and violators will all fall. But, I would like to take a break from such a thing after we took care of my tribe."

"Why is that?", Mephiles asked as though he didn't know. He knew, but hearing her say what they had been discussing for a while is just music to his ears.

Tambourine looked to the nearly blackened sky and said, "When my shadow has become strong enough and has a large enough hold on the world, every shadow the darkness will all connect to me. When I have everyone's shadow connected to mine, I will be able to see into the hearts and minds of every sinner on this planet. Then, I will purge it, and rule it. I will create a dark, and truly perfect world."

"Well, if you can accomplish it, then I will be able to be freed of your shadow.", Mephiles said, beginning to form into hedgehog, but his feet were connected to her shadow still, "What is the progress on your shade?"

Tambourine closed her eyes and concentrated She could see faint images of people moving in different parts of the world. Like little ants tunnels. That's how she could see them. There were people that stuck out more than the others. To be precise, they were her friends when Pryxo was around. Ventuss and Akira. Both were mingling with others she didn't know of. Including Luna. She couldn't look into their thoughts or memories, but she could tell that they were busy. Mephiles saw this from what Tambourine could see and if he could grin, he would. He put his cold hand on her shoulder and asked, "I see it isn't that strong yet. But, I wonder, if your friends were to get in the way, would you actually silence them?"

Tambourine remembered that she said she would stop them herself, but at the same time, she knew that she could never bring herself to actually end them. With her eyes opening she said, "No. I will stop them, and possibly make them a little injured, but I would not end them. They aren't sinners."

"That doesn't mean that they won't sin when they grow older. Especially, that Akira fellow.", Mephiles explained, "From your memories, I understand he has dark awakened once and became a monster. So, in a way, he has sinned."

"That's different. That thing in him is a separate entity.", Tambourine replied.

Mephiles acted to sigh in a sad way, "Oh, but what if he were to attack you in that savage state?"

Tambourine looked quickly at the being of all darkness and said, "No. He wouldn't willingly choose to become that murderous fiend."

Mephiles could only give a smug look and said, "Alright. Here's something for you to think about. What if we encounter them, and you are wrong?", he then sunk back into her shade and remained silent.

Tambourine looked to the sky one last time before laying there and sighing and slowly falling asleep. The moment she was asleep, Maphiles rose from the shadow once again and pointed his hand to the sky. From the sky, two little puffs of black clouds came and began to form into spheres. He whispered quietly to each, "Infiltrate the Freedom Fighters bases and report to me everything that is going on."

The two spheres seemed to register the order a little before going their separate ways and floated on to find their bases. Mephiles looked to the sleeping Tambourine and chuckled to himself, "Soon, there will be no further use for you. A shame really. With out you, this wouldn't be possible."

**Author's Note: **

**Alright, in terms of plot development, there was not a lot done. Silver is awake and has seemed to accept Shine and Fuego into the family. Not bad. Shadow and Aero have met in a civilized manner and acknowledge that they must work together. Sally still doesn't seem to like Blaze, and Tails is officially worried about what those Eggmen are doing with Chaos Emeralds. As for our unfortunate villain, well, we'll see. Next chapter will be a time skip, so we'll see how that mission goes under the sea. This should be interesting.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: To the Depths**

It was all too quiet in the submarine. Granted, it was expected since it was small enough to be manned by four people and carry about five passengers, but it was still terrifying to being all this way down below the surface of the ocean. Vector knew this all too well and wasn't in the least bit excited about it. He was a crocodile after all. Anything that was remotely cold, which is exactly what it is outside of the sub, would put him into hibernation or worse. The only reason why he came was because he felt that a detective like himself was needed, and because Luna had brought up an interesting piece of evidence about this Perfect Chaos that lived in this part of the world. The crocodile looked to the red furred half-breed and asked, "Could you show me the picture again? I'd like to see if there was something I missed."

Luna gave a nod and pulled it out of her water-proof bag, "Here you go. I trust you brought your magnifying glass with you?"

"Of course, what kind of detective do you take me for?" Vector asked before pulling the glass out and looking through it to look at the picture better. There was no doubting that the creature looked exactly like Perfect Chaos. Creepy reptilian eyes, liquid form, and even the way the water was manipulated to make into offensive appendages. The only thing that was odd was the appearance of the brain on the top of its head, "That is very unusual..."

"I have seen the pictures on older newspaper clippings of Perfect Chaos, but this one looks slightly... wrong.", Luna replied before taking the picture and putting it back in her bag.

Shine was in the passenger area with all the rest of them, and was a little bit on the shy side about introducing herself. They all knew her name, but she had volunteered to come with them in case they needed a light source, or even just combat assistance. She noticed that the green hedgehog girl next to her was staring at her and she asked, "Excuse me... can I help you?"

"Well, it's just that you look familiar... are you related to Queen Blaze?" Ventuss asked with an almost child-like air to her words.

The ivory cat gulped a little and she began to fiddle with the zipper on her special diving suit that Tails had made for this mission. Everyone was required to have it on in case there were to be a situation where they had to get off the sub while in the depths. With a small gulp, she replied, "Well... yes and no..."

Ventuss seemed a tad bit uneasy by the answer, so she asked, "How can it be both yes and no?"

Vector was over hearing the conversation before saying, "Hey, ease up on the new kid. She will answer when she feels comfortable. Isn't that right, Shine?"

Shine gave a smile to Vector and nodded, "I'll answer, just not when we're surrounded by water on all sides and have a potential enemy outside..."

"I agree. We'll have plenty of time to get to know one another once we find the Child of Water, and get back to the surface.", Luna said while moving across the room with the two others, "Plus, if it makes you feel better to talk, you can always count on me to keep you company and to give comfort."

Vector began to feel like he was in one of those chick flicks where the girls talk about feelings, boys, and various other things that usually put him to sleep halfway through the beginning of the film. So, with a cough to catch their attention, he got up and said, "I'll leave you ladies alone. I'm gunna go make sure that the captain isn't bored out of his mind."

And with that, the croc got to the door and left the three of them alone to talk, or at least to help Shine get out of her shell. It wasn't too long a walk from the passenger section to the front. It was literally one hallway and nothing more. The things in between were the individual motors that powered the propellers on each side. As soon as he got to the deck with Rouge, Tails, and Marine, he asked, "So, how far have we gone down? It's pretty dark out there."

"Well, Rouge can tell us that. Her personal sonar is more accurate than the one I built into this one." Tails replied before turning her attention to Rouge, "Would you be so kind as to give a demonstration?"

Rouge nodded while putting her head-set on and listening for the pings that the sonar was sending out. When it came back, she didn't even need to look at the console before she said, "We're about two thousand feet from the trench. Once we're there, we'll need to rely both on my sonar and on visuals."

"This thing has lights, right? I was meaning to ask why you installed red lights." Vector commented while looking at the pitch blackness outside of their main window.

Tails was about to answer before Marine looked away from her console to say, "That's simple, mate. Red light travels a farther distance and enables us to see clearer in the dark than other light. Kind of like why the sun looks red when it is setting."

Vector looked at Marine questioningly, not because it was a stupid answer, but because he was surprised that she would know something like that at all. He looked over at Tails, who seemed to be a bit surprised as well before he coughed and said, "She's right. The red light will help us see in the dark a little easier, and will help us also see any creatures that might be hiding in the darkness."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but do we have any defensive weapons for when and if we run into this Perfect Chaos thing down here?" Vector asked while seeming a bit on the nervous side.

Tails shook his head, "Afraid not, Vector. I designed this sub to be fast underwater. To put weapons on this would have slowed us down completely, and it would have been useless. Chaos is mostly water, so the weapons would just go right through him."

"This is starting to look depressing…" Vector muttered to himself while feeling a chill go through his spine as he heard NICOLE's voice sound off with warning lights flashing.

"Warning unidentified organism detected four hundred feet below and closing in on current position. Activating lights now!", NICOLE announced while the red lights outside turned on, showing nothing but empty water, and a pair of glowing green eyes rising from the depths below the sub.

Tails saw the eyes coming towards them, and knew that a set of teeth, large serpent like body, and energy beam that will surely be charging in his mouth would be right there soon as well. After gulping, he turned to Vector and said, "Get the girls ready for possible evacuation… Also, ask them if they feel something odd about Chaos…"

Vector gave a nod, but hesitated for a moment. He had only seen the creature in pictures from when Sonic had defeated him at Station Square. The thought that he was getting closer to see it was absolutely terrifying. When he snapped out of it, he said, "On it. Rouge, keep an ear on it"

Rouge rolled her eyes while keeping her eyes closed and listening to the sounds of the ocean. The currents that snake about vast emptiness in the dark waters, the gentle flapping of fins as fish swim by. Her eyes shot open when she came to a rather strange conclusion from this. But before she could say a word, the entire sub began to shake violently, sending the bat off of her seat and onto the floor, "Ow!"

"Looks like the beasty has a tendril on us, and the head is now two hundred feet away", Marine shouted while getting to her feet and fastening her helmet on herself, "Rouge, come on. Its gunna either crush us with its teeth or tendril. I prefer neither!"

Rouge gave a nod and fastened her own helmet before getting back up and looking around to see Tails preparing for the worst. He seemed to be punching buttons and shouting, "NICOLE! Contact Sally and the other freedom fighters. Let them know that we have a situation, now!"

"Command confirmed", NICOLE replied before processing. All while the girls were brought to where Tails and the crew were. The feline and hedgehog looked at the window that looked to the now bigger reptilian eyes and their eyes immediately widened from fear and shock. The hull of the submarine was moaning loudly as the pressure from the tendril and environment was turning the sub into a crushed can.

Luna fastened her helmet on and tested the communication on it, "Everyone hear me?"

"I hear you, but shouldn't we get out of here before the sub is done for?" Shine asked with confusion, clinging to something around her neck.

Luna nodded and, with everyone close together, began moving to the exit. Tail climbed the ladder and began to undo the top so that everyone could get out, but it suddenly was squeezed shut by one of the tentacles. This knocked Tails down and into the group. Before the water entered the sub, Shine screamed loudly, clinging to Ventuss.

(…)

About a mile from the base that both of the Eggmen were staying in, Shadow, Silver, and a fully recovered Aero were working on a plan to infiltrate the base, get the Emeralds, and capture the evil duo before they could cause anymore damage. Aero and Silver both seemed to look off into the distance where the Ocean Kingdom's location was at the same time, believing something was wrong. Shadow noticed this and cleared his throat, "Is there something wrong, you two?"

"Uh, no… I guess I just got one of those father senses…" Silver replied, shaking his head to get back into the mission. Though, that didn't really stop him from worrying about what might be going on with Shine, or anyone on the submarine mission for that matter.

Shadow gave a nod before looking to his prototype, "And your excuse?"

Aero remained silent before looking back to the map that Shadow had laid out. It was a perfect echo map that Rouge made during her infiltration. While she couldn't retrieve anything because of her part in the submarine mission, it was still valuable information. After looking over the different levels, he asked, "You want me to plant bombs in those specific areas, yes?" he asked while pointing to what appeared to be the lower levels.

Shadow gave a nod before pulling out a solitary, red Chaos Emerald. It was the only one he managed to swipe when confronting Neo Metal Sonic on his search. It saved Shadow valuable time in searching when the metallic doppelganger brought them all into one location. What the doctors were going to do with them was not clear, but it was most likely to fortify their machines for diabolical purposes, most likely worse than the sky always being black. With that in mind, the ebony hedgehog tossed the Emerald to Aero and said, "I won't need it for what I'll be doing. Silver will infiltrate the base and retrieve the other Emeralds while I keep Neo Metal Sonic distracted, and you plant the bombs. Everything must go like clockwork if we are to do this and get back to our respective bases."

"If we get the Emeralds, will we be able to just go Super and fix everything?" Silver asked while adjusting his gloves for the sake of giving his hands something to do.

Shadow shook his head, "No. We're just collecting them for when we need them. No fancy stuff, no deviating from the plan, and no other nonsense."

All three of them then readied themselves to take off and dash into the base. Shadow, however, was the only one who skated to the area that had all the robots and weapons, effortlessly destroying them with a few Chaos Spears and homing attacks. When all was done, he listened to the explosions that occurred almost simultaneously and the alarms going off. With all this, he knew that the cameras and attention would be focused only on him, making it easy for Silver and Aero to sneak by. After a minute of waiting, Neo Metal Sonic quickly shot out of the base and readied for combat, metallic claws stretched and engine revving before rushing to Shadow.

When the robotic Sonic flew out, Silver and Aero dashed to the side entrance where there was the least amount of security. As soon as they got to a fork in the area, Silver went left, leading upward, and Aero went right to the bottom of the base. Both of them were facing foes and clearing the way to get to their objectives without a hitch. All the while, the doctors were watching the battle outside with the Ultimate Life Form and the Ultimate Double fight one another with nothing to hold back. Kicks, punches, and energy blasts colliding and missing were the doctors' versions of prime television. All the while, the Chaos Emeralds were sitting in a circle around another Metal Sonic that was created by Eggman-Nega. With two Neo versions of Metal Sonic, who would try to oppose the doctors?

(…)

The scenery was completely blank. What was green open fields with the wind blowing each blade of grass is now a blank sheet of uncreated emptiness. A blue hedgehog was all that was there, floating in it and utterly confused as to why he wasn't running, or eating chilidogs with his friends. Then a voice broke the silence, and echoed through the void, "You must wake up, hero."

"Huh? Who's there? Do I know you?" the blue hedgehog asked, looking around and trying to clear his ears, thinking it was all in his head. It wasn't, or at least for the most part.

The voice echoed once more, "You should remember me, even if I didn't speak. You've been asleep for a long time, and a lot has happened to the world. There are new heroes to step up to these threats, but there is one that their combined power cannot hope to defeat."

"If their combined power cannot stop this threat, what makes you think I can? And… I've been asleep?" the hero asked, green eyes widening in shock as he began to remember fighting Eggman and then being pushed into a tube. After that, he began running in fields and spending time with his friends… all of it was a dream, "What do I need to do, and who are you?"

"I need you to wake up and rise to the threat that is trying to destroy your home. With the help of my seven young warriors, the power of the Emeralds, and your own power, you will stop the threat and everything shall return to balance." The voice replied, making it clear that it was more than just a voice in Sonic's dreams. The last words sounded like they were being gargled as the blue hedgehog began to feel a pulling sensation. A feeling of sudden energy, but he could hear it. It was only one word. Chaos.

The next thing that the blue hedgehog knew, he was floating in a tank filled with a strange liquid, red lights flashing all over the place, and robotic parts flying in all directions as a familiar hedgehog came into view. Silver the Hedgehog. The young hedgehog seemed surprised to see the blue hero in a tube, and awake for that matter. After grabbing hold of the shining gems that lay before a now broken recolor of the original Metal Sonic, Silver took hold of a robot's arm and bashed it into the glass that held Sonic in, "Is that really you?"

With water escaping the tube and Sonic's body, he coughed, "Who else do you know is blue and would be here?" he then grinned and quickly leaped out of the tube, only to hear explosions coming from down below.

"That must be Aero. I'll bring you up to date as soon as we get out of here. Hold on tight." Silver said while grabbing a hold of Sonic. The doctors were nowhere to be found and must have surely escaped. With that thought in mind, Silver focused on the Chaos Emeralds and shouted, "Chaos Control!" making the duo, and the six Chaos Emeralds disappear and reappear just outside of the base. From that distance, they could see the base slowly begin to sink into the ground and collapse on itself.

Not more than a few seconds after the escape did Aero appear next to Silver, holding his one Chaos Emerald, "Everything went according to plan?"

Sonic had to blink a few times and rub his eyes while looking at the white hedgehog with blue streaks along his quills. Aside from fact that bottom quills on Aero's head were pointing down, he looked exactly like Shadow, and even sounded a lot like him too, "By chance… are you a clone?"

"Hm? Who's this, Silver?" Aero asked, feeling a little more than insulted from the comment made by the cobalt hero.

"Aero, this is Sonic. Sonic, this is Aero. He's Shadow's prototype, who was recently awakened by mine and Blaze's daughter." Silver explained.

Sonic nodded, but was completely lost. Just how long was he asleep that Silver had a kid? And with Blaze to make it that much of a surprise. He knew that the two had a thing for one another, but to go as far as to have kids together? That's just an accomplishment in itself with those two. That notion out of the way, Sonic said, "Alright. Makes sense, but if you guys are here, where's Shadow and our friends?"

As if to answer Sonic's question, Shadow came skating towards them, carrying the doctors in his hands by the collars of their shirts. The ebony hedgehog was covered in scratches and bruises from his fight with the metallic hedgehog, but it managed to get away, choosing to abandon its master. That was probably the smartest thing it did in the entire course of events, "While you guys ran, I saw these two fighting over who would get in their Egg-Mobile. I thought it would be perfect to place the two under arrest." Shadow stated, receiving a nod from Aero.

"Considering that one destroyed Blaze's home, and the other is just an idiot and causing the destruction of this one, I'd say they deserve more than some prison sentence." Silver replied, clenching his fists in rage while walking to Nega, "You destroyed hers and my home, and I would want nothing more than to put an end to you for what you did… But, I'm just going to let these two arrest you after you tell us how to fix what's going on in the world."

"B-b-but we had nothing to do with this…", Nega replied, actually showing a bit of fear for his life, "We had to do with it before, but it was cloud cover from having Sunder and Berg work their powers all over the planet. When they were destroyed, it should have fixed everything, but these aren't clouds!"

"It's true. We have nothing to do with this new problem, or how it could get this severe. We were hoping you would know and would solve the issue while we waited to strike.", Eggman continued, now seeing the look of surprise on all four hedgehog's faces.

This caused Shadow to look skyward, to the blackness and realize that it wasn't cloud cover at all. Now after looking at it closely, it was more like… a membrane? Such a notion can't be right, but when he saw it pulse slightly, it only confirmed his suspicions, "We need to get Sonic back to the freedom fighters as soon as possible. Silver, you take him to the freedom fighters and take some of the Emeralds." He then took one for himself, seeing that Aero had his own, "Aero and I will take the doctors to GUN base."

"Got it. Sonic, you think you can run?" Silver asked, wondering what got Shadow so spooked.

Sonic didn't realize until he was asked that he was actually feeling pretty weak at this point, "Not really. To be honest, I could go for a bucket of chilidogs right about now, and some time to get my running speed back."

"In that case, Silver, you're going to have to carry-", Shadow was about to say more before a honking could be heard in the distance, along with a rather familiar voice.

"Sonic!" the voice cried out as the car came to a halt and a pink hedgehog female leaped from the side and tackled the blue hero.

Sonic had to blink a few times from the surprise that he had just received. Lungs collapsing, pink fur against his own, he managed to say, "A-Amy?"

"I thought I would never see you again! Why did you disappear? Are you okay? You look famished!" Amy went on, not giving Sonic a chance to answer.

Silver watched this and couldn't help but laugh, "I almost missed this kind of sight. Shadow, I don't think you need to worry about Sonic's transportation."

"I can see that." Shadow replied before taking a hold of Eggman while Aero had Nega, "Let's go. Chaos Control!"

Aero did the same and with Shadow, he disappeared.

Amy could only continue to hug and nuzzle Sonic while a familiar young, but not that young, rabbit came into view. She had what appeared to be boxed lunches and looked surprised to see that Shadow was gone, "Aw, and I packed him a lunch too. Well, I still have this one for Mister Sonic, and this one for you too Mister Silver."

Silver blinked and looked at the lunch for a little bit before seeing Sonic almost drool at the sight of chilidogs. With a chuckle, he returned the lunch to Cream, "Thanks, but I am in a hurry. Worry about feeding Sonic and then take him back to the Freedom Fighters, okay?"

Cream giggled and nodded before giving a salute, "Yes sir. Leave it all to us."

Silver gave a smile before putting the Emeralds away and then flying off towards the Freedom Fighters base, unaware that the actions of the four hedgehogs were all witnessed by the source of the current darkness.

All from a distance, feeling only the shadows and seeing through them as well, Tambourine was clenching her fists angrily, "They seek to ruin my perfect world…"

"Indeed, they do, child. With those Chaos Emeralds, and the powers of the others, you are doomed to fail unless you take action here and now." Mephiles said, taking shape right beside her to show that he could now maintain a solid form, but still needed her to exist.

"But it's Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. All of them are so strong, and with those gems they are even stronger. My powers aren't enough." Tambourine admitted, looking to her mass of darkness that was floating above and consuming the planet, "What do I do?"

That was when Mephiles placed a hand on her shoulder, a cold and crystal hand that made Tambourine shiver slightly, "You must let me take control then. You see, I tempted the darkness in you and it caused the creation of your perfect world. All you need to do is let me in more and allow me to unlock the full extent of your powers while combining it with all of mine."

Hearing this didn't make Tambourine all that confident that she could succeed. She had heard of the stories of the three heroes of Mobius and felt that she was no match even with his power, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give it a try. She removed his hand from her shoulder to face the shadow being and said, "I'll do what you want. I just want to eliminate all the evil of this world."

"And so it shall be, Child of Darkness." Mephiles said as he began to morph into smoke and sink into Tambourine's shade once again. This time, seeping into her very being, entering her body, spirit, soul until he found that little bit that made her exactly what she was. It was the gift from Chaos that exists in all of the Children. With effortless mastery, Mephiles began to twist it, taking the evil of the darkness and take it for his own, increasing Tambourine's strength. Before Tambourine could protest about it due to last minute second thoughts, she went into a sudden sleep and fell to the ground.

A few seconds later, her eyes shot open, but they were no longer her natural color. They were glowing a sinister, reptilian green color and a laugh escaped her lips. It wasn't her own.

(…)

Fortunate for everyone who were out of the submarine now, Shine was able to form a barrier around them all to stop the submarine from crushing them and enabling their escape to be slightly easier. Even though they left one danger, that still didn't stop the fact that Perfect Chaos was before them and letting out an ear splitting roar. Vector couldn't stand being out in the water, even with the suit, he knew it was freezing cold and it wasn't good for him at all, "Alright, now what?"

"I need time to think…", Tails replied, gulping and realizing that he actually didn't have a real back up plan.

Marine shouted, "We don't have time to sit around and think. We need to get out of here!"

While they were speaking with one another and trying to swim away at the same time, Ventuss and Shine were sitting back and looking at the monster, not because it was horrifying, but because it wasn't even moving. It just looked like it was staring, but not at the ones that were trying to swim away, but not at them either. Just what was going on in its head? Luna swam to Ventuss and Shine and tried to get them to move, thankful that the light that Shine was producing from her body was enough to keep visibility at a maximum down where they were, "Come on. It doesn't look interested anymore. We can go."

"We can't… It's one of us…", Shine replied, looking directly at Perfect Chaos' area where it's brain would be stored. In her eyes, she could detect a person in there, not a mind of a beast. It was a child of an element, of that she was very sure of.

Ventuss looked at Luna and nodded, "She won't hurt us. She couldn't tell if we were like her unless she took us out of the sub."

"She? Wait, you mean, this is the-", Luna was about to say before the form of Perfect Chaos slowly disappeared, starting from the lower part.

Rouge looked from the retreating group and smiled to herself, "I knew it… Tails, Vector, Marine, there is no need for worries. Come on. The kids found out something interesting."

Tails blinked a few times before spinning his tails to move himself forward, Marine stroking, and Vector swinging his tail about like an actual crocodile. When they stopped next to them, all that was left was the head, which quickly disappeared and left a little girl swimming towards them. She wore a strange looking kimono, her face and what appeared to be a hat was colored pink. No hands of feet could be seen due to the kimono being a little too big for her.

"So, you're from the surface, but you're like me?" the girl asked, tilting her head as her hat and face changed to a bluish color.

"That's right. I'm Ventuss, Child of Wind. This is Shine, Child of Light. We came down here hoping to find you." Ventuss explained, looking to Shine, "Well, go on. Say hello."

Shine seemed reluctant, but decided that it would be alright since everything calmed down, "Hello. I guess you're the Child of Water then?"

The girl nodded before taking a bow respectfully, "I'm sorry for attacking your diving machine. I just thought you were trying to hurt my home like everyone else. Oh, I'm Naida the Squid. Child of Water. I hope I didn't hurt anyone of you."

"It's fine, Naida." Luna said, getting into the conversation, "I'm Luna, and this is Vector, Rouge, Marine, and Tails."

"We all came from the surface to see if we could get your help." Tails explained and then pointed up, "I don't suppose you'll help us get to the surface?"

Naida seemed confused but then nodded, "I see. You're here because Chaos sent out the call?"

"Call?" Shine asked, seeming confused. She looked to Ventuss and saw that she was confused as Shine was.

Rouge asked, "What call are you referring to exactly?"

Naida seemed to turn a sadder shade of blue that made her almost disappear into the water all together, but she retained some visibility, "I guess some of you missed it. Or maybe I was just listening harder than you guys. You see… Chaos told me that the world is hurting really bad and that he wanted us all to meet in one spot to help the Child of Darkness."

"Help? You mean… wait, you know about Tambourine?" Ventuss asked in shock, seeing Luna respond in the same way, "How!"

"You'd be surprised with what you hear when you listen hard enough.", Naida said with a small giggle, showing a happier side while her color changed to pink again, "But I suppose we can talk more when we get up, just make sure no one goes down here for a while? My people don't want to be found yet."

And with no more questions asked, Naida began to move her arms around a little, causing a current to form around the group so that they could begin a slow and steady rise to the surface. The suits that they all wore protected them from the pressure change, and even adjusted so that they wouldn't suffer from decompression sickness. After a half hour of silence and fishes passing by, they arrived to the surface to be helped into the boat that launched the sub into the depths in the first place.

"So, did you encounter the beast?" A familiar wolf asked while chuckling and seeing that they returned without a sub at all.

Tails looked at the wolf and shook his head before pointing a thumb to Naida, "Would you like to shake her hand?"

Nocturn took a moment to look at the little squid girl. Now that they were on solid land, she appeared no taller than Fuego. No older either. Her skin was a little green as she seemed sick from being somewhere other than water. It was a surprise to see that she could quickly adjust to being in water and then coming into dry land. After he finished looking up and down her, he fell onto the ground in an explosion of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry for taking so long! Sheesh, college life is so hard, huh? Well, Summer is coming and I hope to knock another chapter out of the park before it's end. I once again apologize for it. As for those ****who may be reading the Academy XIII story, I am sad to say that there isn't a lot of inspiration that is coming in for me to continue the story. I will be quitting and shutting down the story very soon, so if there is someone who likes that story who wants to look at it, save it, and maybe continue it as their own, then let me know in advance. Just keep in mind that even if I want to quit the story, I want to be kept up to date on it if it is to be taken over by another author. Hopefully a better one than me and can make some sense of the randomness of that story. Well, enough of that. I better get to work on the next chapter while I got time, huh?**


End file.
